


Gilded Thorn

by PitBullsRlife



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU and Proud, F/M, Jaune and Ruby are siblings, Jaune is a good big brother, Pyrrha Nikos is an awesome big sister too, Ruby is a good little sister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25191715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitBullsRlife/pseuds/PitBullsRlife
Summary: Jaune Arc and his little sister Ruby might not have much, but they both consider themselves lucky to at least have each other. Life may not be easy, but it is at least bearable with someone to lean on. But when they are offered a place Beacon Academy, a whole world of opportunities opens up for them. Unfortunately, so does a whole new world of trouble. As the Arc siblings find their way in the Huntsman's world, they uncover secrets, make friends and enemies, and become embroiled in a fight for their very world. A fight they might not truly be ready for.But if they have to go to war, who better to fight beside than the ones they love and trust the most.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc & Blake Belladonna, Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos & Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Pyrrha Nikos & Ruby Rose
Comments: 42
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

Ruby shifted in the uncomfortable metal chair that she had been forced into, freezing in place as the slight movement attracted the attention of the frankly terrifying Huntress who had saved her from that Dust thief and then dragged her off to the Vale Police Department.

_Honestly, I’m starting to wish she had just let me take that explosion. It probably wouldn’t have killed me. And Jaune could have healed me anyway._

Ruby yelped as the woman smacked the metal table in front of her with her riding crop, having apparently realized that Ruby wasn’t listening to her reprimand.

“I’m sorry!” Ruby cried, frustration building in her chest. “They were trying to rob me, and I acted on instinct. I don’t have much money, and if I lost what I do have my brother and I wouldn’t have enough for what we need. We’d have to decide between sleeping on the street or eating from the garbage, and he works so hard so we wouldn’t have to do that.”

The woman paused, tilting her head in a contemplative manner. Ruby could see the Huntress taking in her tattered, travel stained clothing, the dirt that had accumulated on her face and hands due to the lack of running water offered by the cheap motel they had been living in, and too-thin face that signaled a long time of missing meals. Ruby had to force herself not to duck her head in embarrassment. It wasn’t her fault that her life was more difficult than most, and she refused to be ashamed of what she and her brother had survived.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from surreptitiously tracing the edge of Gilded Thorn with one finger, as if to remind herself that the weapon was still there, holstered at her lower back and hidden under her hoodie. The sniper scythe was the only thing of any real value that she owned. It had taken nearly three years of full-time work and too-few meals on both her own part and Jaune’s to earn enough money for all of the parts to make it. Still, the end result was something that Ruby was deeply proud of.

“Be that as it may,” the Huntress began. Her voice was still stern but seemed slightly less harsh at the realization that it had been desperation that lead Ruby to fight back against the thieves rather than recklessness. “Your actions will have consequences.” Ruby cringed. She did not like the sound of that. “But the nature of those consequences is not up to me.”

Ruby wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified by that statement. _What kind of person would_ this _woman answer to?_

“There is no need to frighten the poor girl, Glynda. She has broken no laws.” Ruby’s head shot up at the sound of the new voice. A tall man with grey hair strode into the room. He regarded Ruby through the small tinted glasses perched on the end of his nose, and he held a plain white take out box in one hand and a mug in the other. He regarded Ruby for a moment, his gaze unreadable as he strode toward her.

He came to a stop just barely outside of Ruby’s personal space, but the way he was looking intensely into her eyes made him feel uncomfortably close. Ruby wanted desperately to drop her gaze, but the unexpected action had her frozen in place. She was used to people avoiding eye contact with her, not forcing it.

“You have silver eyes,” he said in place of a greeting.

“Umm, yeah,” Ruby replied uncertainty. “I guess.” She leaned back as much as she could in the rigid metal chair. She wasn’t sure what her eye color had to do with anything, but okay. He certainly seemed to think it was important enough to comment on.

Apparently sensing her unease, the man smiled. It was unexpectedly warm, and Ruby’s shoulders relaxed a bit, although she remained alert. “Here,” he said. He placed the Styrofoam box in front of Ruby and flipped it open. Ruby’s mouth started to water at the sight of what it held.

It was a simple meal. A deli type sandwich cut diagonally with a toothpick keeping each half together. A single serving bag of plain salted potato chips. A pickle spear. And, much to Ruby’s awe, a brownie. An actual brownie. The last time she’d had dessert was when Jaune had somehow managed to afford a single cupcake for Ruby’s thirteenth birthday.

Ruby looked up at the man with an uncertain expression. She wanted the food, certainly. Even the sight of it was enough to remind her stomach that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was now almost nine in the evening. But life in the outskirts—and a big brother determined to see her survive to adulthood— had long since taught her caution. If someone offered you something, they were almost certainly going to want something in return. Never accept until you are sure that the exchange is something that you are willing to give.

“I assure you that I have done nothing to the food. I just thought that you seemed like you could use a meal.” The man’s expression had turned empathetic in a way the Ruby didn’t really understand. When she made no move to eat, the man plucked up half of the sandwich, took a small bite, and set it back in the box.

Ruby eyed him curiously for a moment. He smiled calmly and took a sip from his mug. “You see? Perfectly fine.”

That was good to know, but it was only half of what Ruby was concerned about. “What do you want in return?” she asked flatly.

“Yong lady,” the woman began, sounding affronted, but the man raised the hand not holding his cup and she fell silent.

“Merely for you to hear me out. I wish to speak with you, and I felt that offering you something to eat would make you more open to answering some questions.”

Ruby thought that over for a moment and decided it was something she could agree to. She nodded.

The man smiled as Ruby picked up the sandwich half that he had tested and took a bite. Her eyes closed momentarily at the taste of ham, cheese, and lettuce. She couldn’t help but let out a hum of appreciation, and the man once again regarded her with that odd expression. It didn’t seem threatening, so Ruby ignored it as she licked a bit of spilled mustard off of her fingers.

“What is your name?” the man asked after Ruby had swallowed.

“Ruby Arc,” she replied easily.

“How old are you?”

Another easy one. “Fifteen.”

“Where are you from?”

Slightly harder, but okay. Ruby took another bite of her sandwich as she shrugged. “A village outside of Mistral, originally. Been traveling for a while now, though.”

“Alone?”

“With my big brother.”

“No parents?”  
“Not anymore.”

The man nodded, not questioning that. It wasn’t like Ruby and Jaune’s story was unique after all. Grimm attacks happened all the time. Villages rose and fell almost as often as the tides did. It was sad, but certainly not unexpected for children to be on their own. Honestly, Ruby considered herself lucky to still have her brother.

“Tell me, Miss Arc, how did you learn to fight like that?”

Ruby blinked in surprise at the question. “How do you—”

She broke off as the man pulled a device from his jacket pocket and turned it to show her the screen. On it, a video of Ruby fighting the red-haired Dust thief and his thugs played out.

_Oh, right. Security cameras. Forgot those were such a big thing in the kingdoms._

Ruby shrugged. “My brother and I learned from anybody who would teach us. And then we combined everything and kind of developed our own styles, I guess.”

The man raised a brow. “You learned how to use one of the most dangerous weapons known to man by stitching together the teachings of random Huntsmen?”

Ruby shrugged. “I d-didn’t really have too much of a choice, you know? I needed to know how to fight, and a scythe was the only weapon that- that felt natural to me. My brother does well with our father’s old sword, but it just doesn’t work for me the same way. ‘Too blunt, not enough finesse,’ is what the weaponsmith that helped me build my weapon said.”

The man nodded and let out a thoughtful hum. “Yes, I suppose necessity can be a powerful motivator. Still, it is quite impressive. Tell me, what brought you to Vale?”

“Opportunity,” Ruby shrugged again. She finished off the sandwich half and picked up the pickle. “We were in the area, and we heard that there was a need for workers at the docks. So Jaune decided to check it out. Now that he’s seventeen, he was hoping that he could get an actual job, like a steady one with regular paychecks and all that. So-so we could have stability, he said.”

“An admirable goal,” the man commended, and Ruby smiled. She knew how great her big brother was. “I suppose he is working at the docks right now?”

“Yeah,” Ruby finished half of the pickle and set it back in the box. She gave the remaining food a longing look before sighing and closing the lid to keep herself from picking at it as she talked.

“Yeah, that’s why I was at that Dust shop. There is this really creepy guy in the room next to us at the motel we’re staying at. He keeps eyeing me, and the locks are kind of flimsy, so Jaune didn’t want me there without him, ‘cause he’s a really big guy and I’m not sure I could fight him off if he tried something. ‘Specially if he managed to get me away from my weapon.”

“I see.” The man’s voice had darkened considerably, and Ruby flinched at the angry look in his eyes. He shook his head quickly, letting her know that it was not Ruby he was mad at, and she relaxed.

“So, Miss Arc,” he said, visibly pulling himself away from the topic of the creepy guy in room 239. “Have you or your brother ever considered becoming Huntsmen?”

Ruby tilted her head in consideration. “Well, yeah. I guess so. We looked into some of the options for getting into the Academies but decided to table it when we found out they don’t accept anyone under seventeen. Jaune would have to leave me on my own, and he wasn’t willing to do that.”

“A good brother, then,” the man commended, and Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

“He’s the best brother!” she agreed happily.

“What would you say if I told you that both of you could attend Beacon this year?” the man asked.

“But you have to be seventeen,” Ruby responded in confusion. “That’s not for two years.”

“Miss Arc, do you know who I am?” the man asked, sounding amused.

“No, sir,” Ruby replied with a shake of her head. “I figured you were a Huntsman, though.”

“My name is Professor Ozpin. I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.”

“Oh,” Ruby’s voice was barely a squeak. “Hi!”

Professor Ozpin chuckled. “Hello.” He gave Ruby a moment to collect herself, which she appreciated, before he continued. “Would you and your brother like to attend my school?”

“Yes, sir,” Ruby replied quickly, not quite able to believe what was happening. “I think we would both like that very much.”

Professor Ozpin regarded her for a moment, his brown eyes burning into her silver. “Alright.”

“A-alright?” Ruby repeated uncertainly.

“Yes. The new semester starts tomorrow. If you and your brother… Jaune, was it?” Ruby nodded, still a little bit in shock. “If you and Jaune wish to attend, simply arrive at the South Airport and get on the Bullhead at nine thirty a.m. It will take you to the school, and you will be welcomed in as a member of the first-year class. Is that acceptable?”

Ruby nodded quickly. “Yes, sir!” she squeaked.

“Very well then. I will take my leave. I will see you and young Mr. Arc tomorrow. Have a good night Miss Arc.”

And with that, the odd man turned and left, leaving behind a nervously excited teenager and the faint smell of hot chocolate.

“Miss Arc.”

_Oh yeah, and a still very scary Huntress._

Ruby turned her head slowly towards the woman, as if she were a predator that might pounce at the first sign of weakness.

Thankfully, her expression had turned from furious to merely annoyed. Hopefully, that meant that she would give one last lecture and let Ruby go to give Jaune the good news.

“Which dock is your brother working at tonight?” she asked brusquely.

“Umm, Dock C. He’s unloading a shipment of goods from Atlas.”

“And what time is he expected to finish?’

“Pretty soon, I think. He’s usually back around ten.”

“Very well,” Miss Glynda—because Ruby was worried that even thinking her name without a title was asking for trouble—nodded curtly and motioned for Ruby to follow her.

Swallowing nervously, Ruby collected the box of leftover food and stood. She moved a little too quickly and winced as the legs of the chair protested loudly as they were dragged across the cement floor of the interrogation room. She trailed after the Huntress obediently as she strode purposefully out of the police station. Ruby noticed that all of the cops remained at a respectful distance as the woman and small teenager exited their precinct.

“Umm, ma’am?” Ruby asked hesitantly.

“My name is Professor Goodwitch, Headmistress of Beacon Academy,” the woman said crisply.

Ruby nodded quickly. “Yes Professor,” she acknowledged. “But where are we going?”

“To get Mr. Arc,” she replied as if the answer should have been obvious. Well, considering the questions she asked before taking off, Ruby supposed that it kind of had been.

“Okay,” Ruby replied, uncertain but unwilling to question the older woman anymore.

Professor Goodwitch sighed, turning a stern but sympathetic gaze on the young teen. “Miss Arc, you have already admitted to feeling unsafe in your current residence. As your future instructor, as well as a reasonable adult, I cannot send you back to a possibly dangerous location. We are going to collect your brother, explain the situation to him, and then I will take the two of you to a _reputable_ hotel and get you a room for the night, paid for by Beacon Academy. This is non-negotiable.”

“Yes, Professor,” Ruby replied quickly as the woman glared down at her. “Thank you.”

_I wonder how Jaune is going to take this._

Jaune let out a soft grunt as he hefted the last crate into place on the delivery truck. After quickly making certain that the cargo was properly stowed and unlikely to fall over during the drive he stepped back, swiftly maneuvered the hand truck around, and wheeled it down the ramp. He offered two of his fellow workers a nod that they returned before they began to close up and secure the doors.

Jaune left them to their task and completed his own. He pulled the empty hand truck behind him as he entered the warehouse to return it. Then he went back outside and stood under the harsh florescent lights that illuminated the dock, where he waited patiently for the other five workers to finish their own closing assignments and join him.

Jaune was absentmindedly shooing away a moth that tried to divebomb his face when he caught sight of the foreman, a stern ram Faunus called Floyd, striding towards them. His sudden snap to attention alerted the other workers, who broke off their banter and followed suit.

“Alright, boys,” the foreman said, ignoring the glares his wording earned from the two female workers. “You did a decent night’s work, ya get a decent night’s pay.” They lined up of accept their lien, Jaune taking the last spot without complaint. Floyd was a decent guy; he would give everyone the pay he had offered. The older man absently scratched the graying brown hair just underneath one of his curved horns as he handed Jaune a handful of lien cards. Jaune counted them quickly out of habit, nodding and tucking them into his pocket when he saw that he had been given fifty, just as promised. “Any of ya want more, there’ll be another shipment of food ‘n’ clothes coming in from Mistral around five tomorrow morning. Since ya made good time today, any of ya who come ‘ll get first shot at the job.”

Jaune smiled brightly. That would be the fifth day in a row that he found work, which meant he would be able to feed himself and Ruby for the entire week, with a little bit to add to their emergency stores. If he managed to keep that up, he might actually be able to afford a slightly better room for them to sleep in, one with running water and no creepy neighbor constantly offering to buy his little sister. That would be a relief.

“Be seeing ya tomorrow, Arc?” Floyd asked with a raised brow as the rest of the workers headed off, a few of them loudly announcing their intention of spending their wages at the nearest bar.

“Yes sir,” Jaune replied easily. “Thanks for the opportunity.”

“Yer a good lad, Arc, and a hard worker,” Floyd replied with a dismissive snort. “I wouldn’t bother with ya otherwise.”

“I know, sir,” Jaune chuckled. _Opportunity is what you make of it. If you waste one, you never know when another will come_. One of his earliest mentors had told him that, back when Ruby was still too little to wield anything more dangerous than a stick. Of course, the same had technically been true of Jaune as well at the time. But as the older sibling, he didn’t have that luxury. He had to protect Ruby.

“Don’t stand there woolgathering, boy.” Floyd punctuated that order with a light cuff to the younger man’s shoulder. “That sister of yours ‘ll be waitin’ for ya. Best head off.”

“Yeah,” Jaune agreed, resisting the urge to rub his throbbing arm. Aura or not, four hours of heavy lifting was hell on the muscles. “Thanks, Floyd.”

The man waved him off with an affable grunt and an eye roll. Jaune laughed as he headed off. He had gotten to know Floyd pretty well over the last few months in Vale. The guy was a little rough around the edges, but he had a good heart. He had also developed a bit of a soft spot for Ruby, and Jaune by extension.

“Jaune!” A familiar voice broke into his thoughts, and Jaune felt his mouth curl up in a smile.

_Speak of the devil,_ he thought in amusement, automatically opening his arms as a cloud of red rose petals appeared in from of him, solidified into his little sister, and promptly glomped him.

He stumbled back a step before reclaiming his balance and wrapping her up in a hug. “Hey, Rubes,” he laughed. He lifted her off the ground and spun back and forth a few times, which made her giggle happily into the crook of his neck.

After a few moments, he set her gently back down on her feet. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before straitening up and returning her bright smile. “How’s your night been, sis?” he asked lightly.

He was not expecting her to duck her head and shrink down like she was trying to hide herself within her slightly oversized hoodie. “Ruby?” he asked in concern. Sure, his sister was rather shy at times, but she had never been shy towards _him._

“Well, I…” Ruby trailed off. She scuffed the toe of her sneaker against the ground and stared at the tiny swirl of dirt that the movement kicked up rather than meet his gaze. “There was a thing,” she said slowly, sounding out each word like she was searching for the proper ones.

“What kind of thing?” Jaune asked, becoming alarmed at her odd reticence. “What happened?”

“Perhaps I can answer your questions, Mr. Arc,” a woman’s voice broke in. Jaune’s head jerked up. He felt his abused muscles protest the abrupt movement, but he ignored the minor discomfort as he swept Ruby behind him. He could feel her hand grasp his left forearm as he spun around towards the stranger. He rested his right hand lightly on Crocea Mors’s hilt, ready to draw should the newcomer prove hostile.

“I understand your caution, but there is no need right now,” the woman said calmly. She was blonde and rather intimidating, with severe green eyes behind a pair of thin framed glasses and wearing a professional looking black and white combat outfit with a ragged purple cape. The only weapon that Jaune could see was a simple leather riding crop, but that did little to reassure him. Only the best fighters would be so confident with such an unassuming weapon after all.

“Who are you, ma’am?” he asked cautiously. Ruby was clutching his arm, but she seemed more timid than truly scared. That calmed him down, and he released his hold on his sword.

“Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Headmistress of Beacon Academy,” she replied curtly. She scooped up a white Styrofoam box that was sitting at her feet and strode towards the siblings, her expression stern but not threatening. “You may wish to keep a hold of this, Miss Arc,” she said as she held the box out to Ruby. “I am certain you would rather not lose it.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Ruby bobbed her head sheepishly as she took the box and ducked back behind Jaune.

For his part, Jaune was baffled. He was curious about what was in the box and how Ruby had gotten it, but that could wait until later. “It’s nice to meet you, Professor,” he said hesitantly. “But I don’t understand. What were you doing with my sister?”

“Your sister got herself into a bit of trouble this evening,” the woman explained.

“Trouble?” Jaune repeated, craning his neck slightly to take in Ruby’s nervous expression.  
“There was an attempted robbery at a Dust shop,” Professor Goodwitch explained primly. “Miss Arc was present at the time and took it upon herself to fight back.”

“They tried to rob me,” Ruby explained quickly. “I couldn’t just let them get away. I didn’t want to lose our money. You worked so hard to get it.”

“I got paid for tonight’s work, Rube,” Jaune said, turning to gently urge his little sister in front of him. “And Floyd offered me another job tomorrow morning. We would have gotten by.”

“Of course, we can get by,” Ruby said with a huff. Her expression clearly said _that’s not the point, dummy._ “We always do. But I was hungry, and I know for a fact you’ve been giving me more than my share of the food. And you’ve been working harder than me, training _and_ doing jobs at the docks. If you keep it up too long, you’ll get sick again, and then we’ll really need the extra money.”

The sound of a throat clearing brought the siblings out of their conversation. They turned back to Professor Goodwitch, who was regarding them with a thoughtful expression. “The wisdom—or lack thereof—of Miss Arc’s actions is irrelevant at this moment. What I came here to tell you was that Professor Ozpin witnessed Miss Arc’s fight and was quite impressed by her ability.”

“Professor Ozpin?” Jaune repeated weakly. “As in the Headmaster of Beacon?”

“That is correct, Mr. Arc.”

“He’s really intense and kind of scary, but actually pretty nice,” Ruby broke in. “He even bought us dinner, look.” She held up the box and flipped he lid open to show half a sandwich, a half-eaten pickle, chips, and a brownie wrapped in cellophane. Jaune’s mouth watered at the sight, and his stomach offered a loud and painful reminder that he had given the last of their bread to Ruby that morning, and as such had been working on an empty stomach all day. 

Ruby giggled and handed him the sandwich before closing the box. “Here’s your half, big brother,” she said brightly.

Jaune didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly took a bite of his food, letting out an involuntary hum of delight at the taste. It was actually fresh, the bread not stale and the lettuce not wilted. Jaune ate quickly but not frantically, habitually falling into a balance he knew his system would be able to handle after too long with an empty belly.

Professor Goodwitch was surprisingly patient, not showing any kind of irritation at the sudden pause in their conversation. After Jaune finished his last bite, licking his lips to get the last trace of mustard, he smiled at her apologetically.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I probably should have waited until we were done talking.”

“You are quite excused, Mr. Arc. I am certain that you were hungry after finishing your work. There is no shame in seeing to your own physical needs. If fact, it is encouraged that you do so before you begin damaging yourself.” He voice was as stern as ever, but Jaune thought he could sense something else as well. He didn’t dwell on it. Her feelings were her own business after all.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Jaune replied for lack of anything else to say.

Professor Goodwitch appeared to find that response acceptable because she nodded curtly and continued. “Now, there is a reason I am here, other than delivering a troublemaker back to her guardian.”

Ruby squeaked and hid back behind Jaune at being called a troublemaker. Jaune offered her a smile. Sure, she had her moments, but Ruby wasn’t the type to purposely cause problems for others.

“As I said,” Professor Goodwitch continued, “Professor Ozpin was impressed with Miss Arc’s ability with her scythe. And as such, he has seen fit to offer both of you a place at Beacon Academy for the coming semester.”

Jaune felt his eyes widen in shock. _Wait, what?!_ “He-he what?” he asked faintly. “But Ruby is fifteen.”

The woman nodded curtly. “We are well aware of your sister’s age, Mr. Arc. She was, in fact, honest about that when asked. But given your circumstances, as well as Miss Arc’s proven combat ability, Professor Ozpin has chosen to make an exception for Miss Arc and wave the age requirement in her case.”

Her voice made it clear that she was not exactly pleased with her employer’s decision, but she was not going to argue.

“What about me?” Jaune asked uncertainly. “I haven’t applied or anything. I never even went to combat school, neither of us have.”

“Professor Ozpin believes that the real-world experience of yourself and your sister will make up for your lack of formalized education.” Her voice was as dry as the Vacuan Desert.

“O-okay.” Jaune looked down at Ruby, who was nodding enthusiastically. “I guess we accept.”

“Very well,” Goodwitch nodded. She abruptly turned and headed out of the warehouse district. “Come along, then,” she ordered firmly. Jaune found himself obeying without thought, Ruby holding tightly to his hand as they trailed the intimidating woman like a pair of ducklings.

“Umm, where are we going, ma’am?” he asked nervously. Ruby squeezed his hand reassuringly, and he smiled at her appreciatively.

“First, we will be stopping at whatever accommodations that you have been staying in during your time in Vale thus far. There, you will retrieve your belongings, and I will be taking you to a reputable establishment, where you will be staying for the night.” Professor Goodwitch left absolutely no room for argument, and Jaune took the only safe course of action.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said obediently. “It’s a place called _Ed’s._ It’s South of here, on Vermillion Street.”

Jaune saw Professor Goodwitch’s lips press into a thin line, obviously not pleased by that information. She nodded curtly and took off in the specified direction, and he saw her draw her riding crop, everything in her stance screaming of her willingness to use it.

_Well this should be fun,_ Jaune thought sardonically.

Jaune could practically feel the tension rolling off of Professor Goodwitch as they entered the building that he and Ruby had been staying in for the past few months. Her nose was wrinkled like she had smelled something foul. To be fair, that was entirely possible. Jaune and Ruby had both gotten used to the less than pleasant aspects of _Ed’s._ It was still better than sleeping in an alleyway or warehouse, though. He knew that much from experience.

Jaune and Ruby led her upstairs, Ruby still holding tightly to his hand just like he had taught her after the first time she had almost been snatched when they were still young and new to being on their own. She clutched the rest of the food to her chest with her other hand.

They stopped in front of Room 240, and Jaune reluctantly released his hold on his sister’s hand. He slid his arm up through the sleeve of his black hoodie to reach the hidden pocket he had sewn onto the inside, just behind the bunny decal on his chest, and retrieved a tarnished metal key.

He unlocked the door and opened it slowly, one hand resting on the hilt of Crocea Mors, just in case someone was waiting inside to ambush them. Ruby reached passed him and flipped the light switch, allowing the single lightbulb to illuminate the meagre room.

Jaune had hoped that Professor Goodwitch would wait outside, but no such luck. She followed right behind them, her look of distaste becoming even more prominent. Jaune felt a surge of irritation but suppressed it.

Ruby, bless her, seemed completely oblivious to the older woman’s reaction. She practically skipped to the rickety table where they had left their backpacks and the few possessions that they had. She quickly started to stow whetstones and spare socks into their bags, humming to herself as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Professor Goodwitch studied the room like it was a crime scene. And while that had almost certainly been true on the past, in wasn’t at the moment. “Do you not use the bed?” she asked as she nodded to the bedrolls spread out on the far side of the room.

“I don’t even want to _imagine_ the things that have happened on that bed,” Jaune responded with a shudder of disgust. Goodwitch grimaced and nodded. “Besides,” he continued as he knelt down and started to fold up their bedrolls, “I don’t trust the owner not to have copies of the keys. So, we push the bed in front of the door when we sleep. That way we have at least a little protection.”

Ruby suddenly appeared beside him. He exchanged her bedroll for his backpack, and they each secured their possessions with the ease of long practice.

“Are you ready?” Goodwitch asked.

They both stood and nodded to her.

“Then let’s go.” _The less time spent in this place the better._ Jaune could hear the words as clearly as if she had spoken them out loud. He was a little irritated, but that was probably just the fatigue making him snappish. He kept his mouth shut as he set the key on the table and followed the Professor out the door.

Before they could reach the stairs, Jaune heard a door creak open. He grabbed ahold of Ruby’s hand and pulled her close, praying to the Brother Gods that it was not who he thought it was.

“Hey, kid!” Crap, it was. “Where you goin’?”

Jaune stepped back and gently pulled Ruby by the hand until she was standing between himself and Professor Goodwitch. “We found a better place.” He replied, keeping his tone completely flat. “We’re leaving.”

“And how’d you get the money for that, boy?” the burly man asked. He licked his lips and eyed Ruby in a way that should only be seen in Grimm. “You finally take an offer on the girl?”

Jaune clenched his jaw, fighting back the urge to draw Crocea Mors. “As I have repeatedly told you, my _sister_ is not for sale. Ever.” His voice was cold as ice.

“I’m sure I could give you an offer—”

“No.” This time, Jaune did draw his weapon. He stepped in front of Ruby and held the sword aloft, ready to strike should the human Grimm make another attempted grab for his baby sister.

The man looked like he wanted to, but he was stopped by the riding crop that was suddenly pressed against his throat. “You will walk away _now_. And you will never bother my students again.” Goodwitch’s voice sent shivers down Jaune’s spine. He knew that anger wasn’t aimed at him, but just being in the same room was making his knees tremble in a way they hadn’t since his early days of training.

Realizing just how staggeringly outmatched he was, the man let out a squeak that had Ruby giggling before he disappeared back into his own room, slamming the door hard enough to make dust rain down from the ceiling.

“Come,” Goodwitch ordered. The Arc siblings obeyed.

Later that night, Ozpin sat at his desk, hands steepled below his chin as he studied the documents that had been sent to his scroll. The sound of elevator doors opening drew his attention, and he watched calmly as a rather irritated Glynda Goodwitch stepped out.

“The Arcs have been settled into their hotel room for the night,” she said without preamble. “A much better one than their former residence, of course. You should have seen the place, Ozpin. It’s more likely to pick up drugs or an STD than a good night’s sleep there.”

“Why do you sound so put out, Glynda?” Ozpin asked in amusement. “You were the one who chose to see to the matter personally, if you remember.”

Glynda rolled her eyes. “Don’t play coy with me, old man. You were just as concerned as I was when Miss Arc mentioned their neighbor behaving inappropriately towards her.”

“She was correct about the danger he posed, then?” Ozpin asked, a dark frown taking over his face.

“If anything, Miss Arc was understating the situation. As we were leaving, the man stopped Mr. Arc in the hallway and made a bid to purchase Miss Arc from him. Judging from his reaction, that was not the first time such an offer has been made.” Glynda’s expression mirrored the disgust that Ozpin felt.

Ozpin shook his head. Even with all of his—far _far_ too many—years of life, he could still be disgusted by the filth that humanity could throw at even their most innocent members. “Well, at least the two are safe now.”

“Ozpin, as much as I agree that the Arc siblings need and deserve some kind of assistance, that could have been done without allowing them into the school. From all appearances, Mr. Arc is a hard worker. We could have simply helped him to find better work to provide for his sister.”

“Poverty is not the only danger those two face, Glynda,” Ozpin replied. “Beacon is the best place for them, both to give them a place in the present and to prepare them for the future.”

“It’s Miss Arc, isn’t it?” Glynda sighed.

“The Silver Eyes,” Ozpin confirmed. “I had nearly given them up for extinct when Summer Rose died, but here is yet another young woman with the gift.” Ozpin studied the files in front of him for a moment before closing his scroll and looking up at his old friend. “The Arcs are an old line. I suppose I should not be surprised that they picked up the gene at some point. And to have it manifest itself now… Well, we will see what that means in time.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby meets new people, Jaune spends time as a human shield, and Pyrrha just wants to hold a normal conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I was blown away by the reception for this story. You guys are awesome!  
> In case anybody missed this detail in the first chapter, when Jaune told Miss Goodwitch that he and Ruby were staying at "Ed's, on Vermilion Street." Vermilion is a shade of red. They were living in a motel in the red light district. That is why Goodwitch was so upset when he told her that. Because she is an actual responsible adult.  
> Anyway, let me know what you think.

Ruby winced sympathetically as her brother retched. He took a few deep breaths, both hands braced on the sides of a conveniently placed trash can and his head hovering above it. She rubbed his back consolingly, feeling his shoulders heave as he tried desperately to regain control over his wonky stomach. It was not a new experience. They didn’t fly very often, but every time they did, poor Jaune would spend the entire time in misery.

“Probably a good thing we finished off that food the Professor gave us last night,” Ruby mused absently. “At least now you don’t have much to bring up. That would have been a waste.”

Jaune let out a sound that was a cross between a growl and a whimper, which Ruby translated as, _I love you dearly, but I will seriously kill you if you don’t stop talking right now._ She obligingly fell silent. When the bullhead started to descend, Ruby wrapped her arm around Jaune’s back, knowing that takeoff and landing were the worst parts for him.

He closed his eyes and leaned his temple against her own. The bullhead touched down, and Jaune quickly moved back to the trashcan for one more round of puking. Ruby rubbed circles against his shoulder until her brother finished being betrayed by his own sense of balance. He took a deep breath before he straightened up and looked at her.

“You good?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine now that we’re finally back on solid ground,” he grumbled irritably. “Whose bright idea was it to build this stupid school on top of a giant cliff, anyway? I mean, come on!”

Ruby laughed at her big brother’s grumpiness. He pouted back at her for a second before he sighed and shook his head with a rueful smile. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom and rinse my mouth out real quick.”

Ruby nodded. She glanced out the window where she could see a steady stream of students heading toward the impressive structure that was Beacon Academy. “Meet me by those benches out there?” she asked, pointing to a row of seats just off of the walkway currently flooded with student hopefuls.

Jaune glanced in the direction she was pointing and nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He smacked his lips with an expression of distaste. “Shouldn’t take me long. Try not to get swept away, okay? I don’t want to have to organize a search party.”

Ruby stuck her tongue out at her big brother. “Well at least I managed to hold my breakfast, Vomit Boy!”

“We didn’t eat breakfast.”

“Semantics.”

Jaune chuckled and headed off to the men’s room. Ruby joined the crowd of people exiting the bullhead, which had thankfully lessened from a flood to merely a stream. She beamed in excitement as she caught sight of the true grandeur of the school. It was huge! It was also kind of intimidating, so Ruby decided to put off thinking about it until Jaune was there to talk her down from prospective panic attacks. Instead, she decided to indulge in a bit of people watching.

Or, more accurately, weapon watching. People were scary, but weapons were awesome. And there were so many!

She caught sight of a guy with a large mace walking by. It was certainly intimidating, but she doubted it had any use in stealth or speed. A girl with a curved katana hefted a duffle bag over her shoulder and started down the walkway. An impressive blade, and well cared for judging by the gloss on the dark sheath it was hidden inside. Good for speed and finesse, especially if it shifts into a long-range weapon.

Distracted by her thoughts, Ruby didn’t notice the tall blond girl running towards her until she was plowed over by what she could only describe as a human bulldozer. The larger girl didn’t even look back to see who she had run into as she ran toward a group of other teens with a loud cry of, “Hey, guys!” One of Ruby’s shoulders throbbed with pain where the blonde girl’s wrist struck her. The heavy bracelet that Ruby strongly suspected hid her weapon packed quite a punch even without the older teen putting any purposeful force behind it.

Ruby cried out as the accidental hit sent her careening into a luggage cart that was being pushed by a man wearing an unfamiliar uniform. She tried to catch herself, but the momentum was too much. She went down.

Ruby stared up at the sky as she tried to put together what had just happened. She felt several dull tingling pains along her arms and on the back of her head that signified bruises her aura was attempting to heal. Thankfully, the majority faded quickly, which meant that they weren’t serious.  
“What are you doing?!” a furious voice demanded.

Ruby looked up from her place on the ground, buried under a pile of white suitcases. “Falling,” she replied, still shaken by the sudden events and dizzy from hitting her head on the concrete.

“Don’t you watch where you’re going, you complete dolt?!”

Ruby finally managed to collect herself enough to sit up and see who exactly was yelling at her. It was a girl, probably around Jaune’s age, with white hair, blue eyes with a scar over the left one, and wearing a white combat outfit with a short skirt and a red jacket lining and a silver rapier sheathed at her back.

Oh, and she was also wearing a rather fierce scowl.

“I didn’t fall on purpose,” Ruby defended herself, a little put out that the girl would yell about her luggage instead of asking if she was alright. “That blonde girl pushed me.” She shoved a stupidly pristine white suitcase off of her lap and stood up, grateful when the lack of wooziness indicated that she did not have a concussion.

The movement only seemed to further enrage the older girl. “Careful with that!” she snapped as she snatched up the suitcase Ruby had moved and opened it to inspect the contents.

“Well sorry,” Ruby muttered in irritation. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so rough with the case, but the girl was seriously out of line with her yelling.

“Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused?!” the white-haired girl continued, apparently oblivious to Ruby’s existence as anything other than her current object of ire. “This is Dust. Mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry. What are you, brain dead?” She pulled a vial of said Dust out of her case and started shaking it forcefully as she ranted.

Ruby stopped paying attention to the older girl’s tirade after that, too busy trying to wave the now airborne Dust out of her face. Apparently, the container had been damaged when Ruby fell on it because it was leaking. Each movement released another cloud of bright red Dust, and the collected energy began to audibly crackle.

Ruby tried to move away, but she was pinned between the luggage cart and the yelling girl. Ruby’s nose twitched, irritated by the particles assaulting it. She blinked watery eyes and shook her head. She couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Achoo!”

_BOOM!_

The Dust ignited and engulfed both girls in a brief cloud of energy. Ruby stood there for a moment with her ears ringing and the burgeoning suspicion that coming to Beacon may not have been the best idea after all. If the girl had looked angry before, she looked absolutely murderous now.

_Is she…? Is she growling?_ Ruby thought as she shrunk back in terror. Where in the world was—

“Ruby! Are you alright?” _Oh, thank the Brother Gods!_

Ruby almost wept in relief at the sound of her brother’s voice. Jaune marched in like a knight in shining armor (well, ragged hoodie, but the knight part was totally accurate, and that was the important part!) as he pulled his little sister away from the glaring young woman.

“I’m alright.” Ruby tried to reassure him, but she couldn’t help but hide behind him to get away from the scary girl who wouldn’t stop yelling at her. Jaune, being the good big brother that he was, willingly allowed her to use him as a human shield.

“What happened?” he asked. The other girl broke in before Ruby could reply.

“This… _child…_ knocked over my luggage and did who knows how much damage to my priceless Dust supply!” she accused.

“I-Someone ran into me, and I tripped over her bags,” Ruby explained, practically hugging Jaune’s back as the Dust girl continued to glare daggers at her. “And then she started shaking one of the containers in my face, and it was leaking, and I sneezed, and we exploded,” she finished in a rush.

“Your stupidity could have caused a disaster!” the white-haired girl snapped. “Are you going to own up to your mistakes, or are you going to continue hiding behind someone else?”

“Hey now,” Jaune broke in. He frowned darkly at the girl. “It’s not Ruby’s fault. She already said someone else ran into her and knocked her into your bags. I’m sorry that your Dust was damaged, but it wasn’t my sister’s fault.”

“And you just believe that?” the girl scoffed.

“Yes, I do.” Jaune’s voice turned hard. “So, you need to cool off and stop taking your frustrations out on my baby sister, Princess.”

“It’s heiress, actually,” a new voice broke in. Ruby peered around Jaune’s back to see a dark-haired girl in a white and black outfit, katana sheathed on her back, and a big black bow on top of her head stride up to them. She held up a vial of Dust, which had apparently rolled away during the commotion. “Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellants in the world.”

The now-identified Weiss preened at the introduction. “Finally, some recognition.”

That satisfaction quickly turned sour as the dark girl continued. “The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners.”

“What- how dare-” Weiss sputtered indignantly. Abruptly, she snatched the vial out of the girl’s hand and stalked away, nose so high in the air that Ruby wondered how she could see where she was going.

“Hey, thanks for- And she’s gone,” Jaune said, and Ruby looked over to see that the still unnamed girl had disappeared as quickly as she had come.

“Well that was a disaster,” Ruby sighed.

Jaune laughed. “Just a small one, though,” he pointed out.

“True.”

“Come on, sis.” Jaune took her hand. Ruby considered making a comment about how she wasn’t a baby anymore, but the contact soothed her rattled nerves too much to risk him letting go. “Let’s go figure out where the heck we’re supposed to be right now.”

Pyrrha eyed the gathering crowd with trepidation and a hint of disappointment. She had hoped that by choosing to enroll in Beacon instead of Haven, she would have the chance leave the Invincible Girl behind and simply be Pyrrha. Maybe even make some friends. After all, this was Vale. Why would they care about the results of a competition held all the way over in Mistral?

The results had been… rather disappointing, thus far. She may not be quite as well-known as she was at home, but she had still gained a lot of recognition. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for accepting the sponsorship deals. Then again, it had earned her enough lien to pay for her tuition to Beacon without having to take anything from her parents, so she supposed it did have its uses.

But that was beside the point. The stares and whispers of _“Is that Pyrrha_ Nikos?” seemed to follow her everywhere, echoing through the hallways and cutting her off every time she started to consider introducing herself to her future classmates. What was the point in trying to get to know people when they already believed that they knew you?

She was trying to remain hopeful, but it looked more and more like she would continue to be an unwilling loner. With that depressing thought, Pyrrha headed to the ballroom that Miss Goodwitch had denoted as the Initiates’ dormitory for the night. She found a spot that was mostly out of the way and set her bag, along with Milo and Akouo on the floor to claim it.

She looked around and noticed a large metal dolly stacked high with simple lightweight sleeping cots in the far corner of the large room. That was a relief. She had brought a sleeping bag, but the floor was quite hard. She would have managed of course, but she was glad that she wouldn’t have to. She headed over, keeping her head down and trying not to be noticed. Thankfully, people at least did not seem to be looking for her, and anybody who may have recognized her were not confident enough to approach.

She found a place nearby to stand and decided to wait for the crowd to disperse a bit before she grabbed a cot for herself. As she was waiting, the largest group seemed to finish their conversation and wandered off, laughing and joking together. When they moved away, Pyrrha caught sight of a rather amusing scene that had been hidden behind them. 

It was a girl. She was obviously trying to get a cot, but she couldn’t reach it. Even while stretching up as far as she could, the tips of her fingers just barely brushed the bottom of the cot on the top of the pile. As Pyrrha watched, the girl did a little jump, tried to catch hold of her quarry, missed, and then stood there for a moment with a rather adorable pout on her face. Pyrrha had to giggle at the endearingly frustrated look. She strongly resembled a child trying and failing to reach the cookie jar.

Pyrrha stepped forward to offer help. She was far taller than the girl, so she could easily pull the cot down for her, but she was interrupted by a sudden angry shout.

“You!”

Pyrrha whirled around, wondering if she was about to be bombarded by fans or confronted by someone who was upset about her choice of school. But no, the owner of the voice, a white-haired girl that Pyrrha recognized as Weiss Schnee—the only initiate possibly more well-known than herself— marched right passed her. She zeroed in on the girl that Pyrrha had been about to offer her assistance to. Schnee leaned right into the unknown girl’s face, a furious sneer taking over her own.

“Not again,” the small girl whimpered, trying desperately to move away from the irate heiress. “What did I do now?”

When she saw the girl cringing in fear, Pyrrha realized something. She was tiny.

It wasn’t just that she was short. She was thin, bordering on unhealthy. Her face was narrow and pale, framed by dark hair streaked with red. The waifish appearance was accentuated by the look of fear in her unusual silver eyes. Frankly, she didn’t look old enough to be attending Beacon at all. Everything about her screamed “endangered child,” and Pyrrha felt a strong sense of protectiveness start to build in her.

“I _want_ you to stay away from me!” Schnee demanded, which seemed to confuse the younger girl.  
“Y-you came up to me!” she protested. “I would be perfectly happy to never see you again, but you keep following me!”

“You were trying to sabotage my chances at Beacon!” Schnee claimed.

“No, I’m not.” The girl was visibly baffled by the accusation.

“You destroyed my Dust!” Schnee jabbed a finger violently into the smaller girl’s chest. When she jumped back in an attempt to avoid it, she slammed into the stacked cots and sent the entire load tumbling down on top of her.

Pyrrha’s eyes widened in alarm and she rushed forward to help dig the girl out of the pile of metal and canvas. The cots weren’t very heavy, but there had to be at least two dozen of them burying the small figure. That weight would add up, and the other teen looked so fragile.

A pale hand nearly hidden inside a red sleeve fought its way out of the heap. Pyrrha grasped it and pulled. Clearly not expecting that, the dark-haired girl let out a squeak of surprise as she was pulled out of the mess and hauled up to her feet.

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha gasped. She had not meant to frighten her.

“Huh?” the girl blinked up at Pyrrha (way up, as her head barely came to the middle of Pyrrha’s chest) for a moment before smiling shyly. “Oh, thanks for your help.”

The sleeve that had covered her hand belonged to a red hoodie with a black rose decal on the front. She also wore a denim skirt over black leggings and a pair of worn red and white sneakers. She looked around anxiously. “Is-is she gone?”

Pyrrha looked around quickly, but the only person around was boy who was sniggering over the silver eyed girl’s mishap. She gave him a stern look and he broke off with a sheepish expression. She turned back to her current conversation partner. “If you mean Weiss Schnee, then yes. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly was that about?”

She sighed. “When we were getting off the bullhead, some girl ran into me and knocked me into her luggage. Then she started yelling at me and shaking a broken Dust vial in my face and it made a cloud of Dust which made me sneeze which made us explode and then she kept on yelling and then—” the girl broke off with an embarrassed blush, apparently realizing that she was babbling. “Sorry,” she squeaked.

“It’s alright,” Pyrrha assured her. The last thing she wanted to do was make the poor thing more upset. Besides, she found the ramble kind of endearing.

“Anyway, my name’s Ruby. What’s yours?”

Pyrrha stared at Ruby in shock. She didn’t—

_No, don’t get too excited,_ Pyrrha cautioned herself. _She might just be too distracted to recognize your face._

Still, the Mistralian couldn’t help but hope. “I’m Pyrrha,” she replied. She studied Ruby’s face closely, looking for any sign of the usual “Wait, that’s _her!?”_ expression. “Pyrrha Nikos.”

Ruby smiled, showing absolutely no sign of recognition. “Nice to meet you, Pyrrha! Thanks for pulling me out of that avalanche!”

Pyrrha broke out in a broad smile. “You’re very welcome, Ruby!”

Ruby looked ruefully at the mess around them. “I guess I should probably pick these up, huh?”

“Probably,” Pyrrha chuckled. “Let me help you with that, Ruby.”

Ruby’s face lit up. “Gee, thanks!”

The job was finished quickly. Ruby collected cots and handed them to Pyrrha, who stacked them neatly on the dolly. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Pyrrha began as she straightened the final cot on top of the stack. “How old are you? No offense, but you don’t really look old enough to enroll in Beacon.”

“I’m technically not,” Ruby admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. “I’m fifteen. But Professor Ozpin saw me fighting a group of guys who tried to mug me. I guess he was impressed, because he invited me and my brother to come to Beacon even though I’m two years too young and neither of us ever actually applied.”

“That’s quite remarkable,” Pyrrha commended, legitimately impressed. “You must be quite talented if he was willing to give you such a big chance.”

Ruby blushed and ducked her head. “It wasn’t that impressive,” she protested. “I would have probably gotten fried if Professor Goodwitch hadn’t shown up when she did.”

“Even so, you must have showed real promise.” Ruby let out a tiny squeak, and Pyrrha smiled at the girl’s shyness.

“Anyway, I should get back to my brother before he starts to think I got lost again,” Ruby said. She scooped up two cots. Or attempted to, at least. She looked rather comical, as the things were considerably taller than she was, making her look like the things had somehow grown feet and tried to run away. Ruby barely managed two steps before she tripped. Pyrrha caught her before she hit the ground.

“Obviously, I should have made my brother take this job,” Ruby grumbled as Pyrrha gently took the cots from her. “He’s tall, so he might as well be useful.”

Pyrrha laughed at that. “Well, I’m tall too,” she offered. “How about I help you?”

“You sure?” Ruby asked, silver eyes wide and earnest. “I don’t want to be a bother. You’ve already helped me a bunch already.”

“I certainly don’t mind,” Pyrrha assured her, easily hefting three cots onto her shoulder. “Where are we going?”

“We found a spot over by the window,” Ruby replied with a thankful smile. She led Pyrrha, chatting happily about some book that she had read recently with a title that the Mistralian didn’t recognize. Without anyone yelling at her, Ruby was actually rather personable, she mused.

“Here we are. Oh, and Jaune’s back!” Ruby happily tackled a young man who had been sitting against the wall and observing the passersby with a contemplative expression.

The boy yelped in a way that was hilariously similar to how his sister had when Pyrrha had helped her up. “Jaune!” Ruby cheered happily. “This is Pyrrha! She’s really nice and she helped me when that Dust girl came and yelled at me again and I accidently knocked over the stack of cots and now she came ‘cause I can’t carry two of those things and walk at the same time since I’m not tall but she is!”

Pyrrha was impressed when the boy—Jaune apparently— took Ruby’s rapid-fire explanation with a patient smile and a fond hair ruffle. Once his sister had finished talking, he nudged her gently off of his lap and they both stood up. He offered Pyrrha his hand with a bright smile, and she set all three cots on the ground in order to shake it. His blonde hair and blue eyes were nothing like his sister’s, but their outfits were similar, with the boy wearing a black hoodie with a white rabbit face decal, worn jeans, and scuffed black and white sneakers. “Nice to meet you, Pyrrha. I’m Jaune, this motor mouth’s big brother.”

Pyrrha watched his face closely. To her joy, he also showed no sign of recognizing either her face or her name. “Nice to meet you too, Jaune,” she said with a bright smile. She released his hand and looked back to Ruby, who looked bashfully up at the older girl. Pyrrha offered her a gentle smile, and her shoulders relaxed as she returned it.

“So, are you from Vale?” Jaune asked, further cementing her certainty that the siblings were, in fact, completely unaware of her reputation as the Invincible Girl.

“No. Mistral, actually,” she replied cheerfully. She hadn’t had the opportunity to make small talk since her second tournament win. It was kind of fun. “And you two?”

“All over the place,” Jaune replied with a shrug.

“We were born in Anima,” Ruby added, “but we’ve been in Sanus for a few years now.”

“You live outside the Kingdom’s?” Pyrrha asked, catching Ruby’s use of the continent names instead of the Kingdoms.

“Mostly.”

Pyrrha nodded. Before she could say anything else, her Scroll chirped, alerting her that it was time to turn in for the night if she wished to rest for her usual amount of time before Initiation the next morning. “I believe it is time to say goodnight,” she said a bit regretfully. “It was really nice meeting you two.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Pyrrha,” Jaune replied warmly.

“Good luck tomorrow!” Ruby chirped. “Maybe we’ll see you before everything starts?”

“I would really like that, Ruby,” Pyrrha replied, and she meant every word.

Pyrrha was up early the next morning, as usual. As she passed by the spot where the siblings she met before had settled down for the night, she had to smile at the adorable sight of the two. Their cots were shoved up against each other, and Jaune had an arm wrapped protectively around Ruby. She couldn’t hold back a giggle. Thankfully, it was soft enough not to disturb anyone.

She went through her morning routine mechanically. She was filled with a potent mixture of nervousness and excitement. She had made friends. Friends! And they couldn’t be trying to cozy up to the Invincible Girl, because they didn’t _know_ about the Invincible Girl! It was wonderful.

_Now if only I could be partnered with one of them,_ she thought. _Then I think I’d have a shot at a pretty good experience at this school._

Well, she’d have to wait and see about that. Still, she could always hope.

As it approached time for Initiation to begin, Pyrrha found herself wandering the locker room, watching for any sign of Ruby or Jaune. It seemed like a logical place to look for them, considering they would need to get their weapons before reporting to the cliffs. She used her height to her advantage as she hoped for a glimpse of a tall blonde or tiny black-and-red head. Unfortunately, the voice that broke into her thoughts was not the one of the two she had been hoping for.

“Pyrrha Nikos.”

Pyrrha winced. The voice was familiar, if considerably more pleasant than the last time she had heard it. She turned to see Weiss Schnee standing beside her, an expectant look on her face.

“Miss Schnee,” Pyrrha responded politely. She might be unhappy about the girl’s treatment of Ruby, but it wouldn’t do to cause a scene.

“No need to be so formal,” the white-haired girl said with a picture-perfect polite smile. “Just Weiss is fine.”

“Well Weiss, what can I do for you?” Pyrrha’s voice was impeccably polite, something she had mastered in the face of even the unruliest of fans.

“I was hoping for the opportunity to speak with you.” The polite smile gained a slight predatory edge. Pyrrha would have missed it if she hadn’t known precisely what to look for.

Pyrrha barely held back an exhausted sigh. She knew exactly where this was going.

“Have you given thought to your team yet?”

_And there it is._ Pyrrha’s smile became strained, but she knew from experience that Weiss would be too caught up in her own scheming to notice such a small detail.

“I hadn’t,” Pyrrha lied. “I thought that I would wait to see what system was being used to choose pairs before worrying about it.” Technically true, even if a certain pair of siblings had caused her to begin thinking about it anyway.

“Maybe we could form a partnership,” Weiss suggested. “I believe we could be pretty successful together.”

“That sounds… grand,” Pyrrha said lamely, desperately praying for a chance to get away from the other girl.

That prayer was answered by a much more welcome voice. “Pyrrha!” Ruby chirped happily.

Pyrrha looked up and saw the girl practically skipping up to her with a bright grin. Jaune was following close behind his sister at a more sedate pace, an equally welcoming smile on his face. Pyrrha couldn’t see Ruby’s weapon, but Jaune now had a sword in a white sheath strapped to his belt.

Weiss whirled around and scowled furiously. “You!” she snapped.

Ruby let out a startled squeak. Then she disappeared in a cloud of rose petals and reappeared hiding behind her older brother. _Huh. Interesting Semblance._

Jaune’s smile turned into a cold glare as he regarded the heiress. “No need to get upset, Princess,” he rebuked. “We’re just saying hello to our new friend.”

“Friend?” Schnee sneered derisively. “What makes you think that you’re worthy of her time?”

Jaune stared at the white-haired girl incredulously. “We met her last night. She was nice. We both liked her.”

“Don’t you know who she is?” Pyrrha winced at the tone in Weiss’s voice. It was exactly the tone she hated, and the one she had been so overjoyed not to hear from Ruby and Jaune when she had met them.

“Of course, I do,” Jaune retorted with an odd look at the girl. Ruby peered around her brother to give Pyrrha a confused look. “She’s Pyrrha. I told you, we met her last night.”  
“She is Pyrrha _Nikos,_ ” the Schnee retorted. She gave Pyrrha a look, as if she were trying to commiserate with her over the lack of recognition. Pyrrha avoided her gaze, smiling kindly at Ruby instead in an attempt to soothe the younger girl’s obvious unease.

“Okay.” Jaune drew out the word as he nodded slowly. “I will admit that I didn’t catch her last name before.”

“I did,” Ruby piped up, hesitantly returning Pyrrha’s smile. “Ours is Arc, by the way. Sorry I forgot to say that earlier.” 

“It’s alright,” Pyrrha replied promptly. Weiss broke in before she could continue.

“She graduated top of her class at Sanctum.”

“Congratulations,” Jaune and Ruby offered simultaneously. Their tones made it clear that they were impressed, but not awed.

“She was the Mistral Tournament Champion four years in a row. That’s a new record!”

_Goodness, she sounds like she’s advertising me,_ Pyrrha thought.

The Arc siblings offered matching blank expressions. “I do not know what that means,” Jaune admitted with a careless shrug.

“I think it’s a fighting thing. Right?” Ruby looked at Pyrrha. The Mistralian nodded in confirmation. At this point, she was fighting back the grin that wanted to bloom across her face, hiding it behind a smaller polite smile.

“She’s on the front of the Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes cereal box,” Weiss continued, becoming frustrated.

The blank looks did not change.

“Really?!” Weiss snapped. “Not even that?”

Jaune shrugged. “We don’t really eat that kind of stuff,” he replied.

“It is quite bad for you,” Pyrrha agreed.

Weiss looked like the brother and sister had personally insulted her. “How could you even…” she trailed off with a sigh. “Whatever,” she continued. “We need to get to the cliffs. Come on, Pyrrha.” She started off, but she came to an abrupt halt when Pyrrha spoke up.

“Actually, I think I will walk with Ruby and Jaune,” Pyrrha replied. She offered the heiress her “public event” smile. “Good luck today, Weiss.”

The heiress stared at her with wide eyes, apparently shocked at being denied. Then she gave Jaune and Ruby a dirty look that caused the younger to let out a yelp of fear and press her face against her brother’s back.

Weiss turned on her heel, let out an offended “Humph,” and strode out of the room.

“Well that was unpleasant,” Jaune remarked as Ruby hesitantly moved out from her cover.

Pyrrha sighed. “Thanks for that. I didn’t know how to get away from her without being rude.”

Jaune offered her a grin. “Glad to be of service.”

Pyrrha glanced down to hide her sudden blush.

“Still,” Jaune continued. “That girl is such a brat. I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck with—”

“Don’t!” Ruby cut her brother off. “If you finish that thought, one of us will end up partnered with her!”

Jaune grimaced. “Good point. Never a good idea to tempt fate.”

Pyrrha laughed in amusement at their exchange. “Well, are you guys ready?”

Jaune and Ruby grinned. “You bet!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Initiation happens. Teams are formed, Grimm are fought, and Pyrrha's protective instincts are activated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not great at writing action, but I tried. Apparently, my idea of fighting involves climbing a lot of trees. I'm not entirely sure where that came from. Oh, well. Enjoy!

Jaune rolled his eyes as he was hurled into the air. Seriously, they couldn’t have told them ahead of time that they would be launched off a freakin’ cliff into a Grimm infested forest?!

He wasn’t particularly concerned for himself or Ruby. After all, they had lived the majority of their lives in the Outlands, so fighting Grimm was almost second nature to them. But he still would have appreciated a heads up on the whole “landing strategy” thing.

Well, at least his sister seemed to be enjoying herself, judging by the excited giggles he could hear as she spiraled away from him in midair.

For lack of anything fancy to do, Jaune expanded Crocea Mors’s sheath into its shield mode, curled into a ball behind it, and waited to hit the ground. It would hurt, sure, but his aura would take most of the damage. Probably.

The impact knocked the breath out of him. He waited for the dizziness to subside and then pulled himself out of the crater. He brushed some dirt off his hoodie, climbed a tree, and watched carefully for the Grimm that would inevitably be drawn to the noise.

Sure enough, a small pack of Beowolves broke through the trees. They nosed at the crater, snarling and sniffing as they tried to figure out where their prospective prey had gone.

Jaune watch them for a minute. There were five, all relatively small. No alpha in sight. That didn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t one of course, but he’d deal with that when and if it became an actual problem. He silently collapsed his shield, drew Crocea Mors from the sheath, and expanded it again. Then he jumped.

Two Beowolves met their end before the pack even realized he was there. A third lunged, trying to sink its fangs into his neck. He ducked out of its path and swiftly cut off one of its front legs. It let out a howl as it tumbled to the ground. He plunged his sword into its throat before it could get its remaining limbs underneath it. He swiftly turned to the last two remaining members of the pack. He kept his sword aloft and his shield ready as he eyed them through the quickly dissipating smoke left by their slain fellows.

They circled slowly, trying to find a flaw in his defense. He kept his gaze fixed, breath steady and grip firm. One began to growl and paw at the ground, attempting to keep his attention as the other padded quietly behind him.

_Huh, teamwork. These two must be older than the others,_ he noted to himself.

Jaune kept his eyes on the Grimm in front of him, but his ears were trained on the one slowly moving into position behind his back. He’d seen this method used by Beowolves before, he knew what was coming. He bent his knees, shifting his weight to his right foot. His grip on Crocea Mors loosened ever so slightly, ready to strike.

_And three, two, one…_

With simultaneous snarls, the Grimm launched themselves at the male Arc. He threw himself to the left and used his momentum to execute a very Ruby-esque backflip, landing firmly on his feet in a crouch. The snarls turned to yelps as the Beowolves crashed into each other instead of their intended prey. With two swift strikes, Jaune beheaded both before they could recover.

He stood over the dissolving corpses for a moment before he collapsed his shield and sheathed Crocea Mors to his belt. He turned to a tree just to the right of the little clearing and offered it a smile. “Enjoy the show?”

Pyrrha emerged, a playful smirk on her face. “I was going to offer my help, but you seemed to have the situation well in hand.”

Jaune shrugged. “Those last two were a bit smarter than the norm, but they were hardly alphas.”

Pyrrha nodded. “Still, five Beowolves in just under three minutes is quite impressive.”

Jaune smiled at her. “So, does that mean I have proven myself worthy of the Great Pyrrha _Nikos_?” he asked, making sure emphasize her last name the same way Weiss Schnee had before.

To his surprise, the redhead frowned at him. “I never thought you were _unworthy,_ Jaune. You or anyone else.”

“I know,” Jaune said quickly. “I didn’t think you did. I was just teasing you because of that girl making such a big deal about things earlier.”

“Oh.” Her sudden blush rivaled her hair. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I am,” Jaune protested. “I shouldn’t tease you over something that’s obviously a sore point. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“You didn’t,” Pyrrha insisted. “I was just being sensitive.”  
“If Weiss Schnee was an example of how people usually treat you, then I can see why.” He really could. Heaving people constantly blurt out your name and start fawning over you before you could get a word in edgewise must get really annoying. “I was just teasing a bit because that’s what I do with Ruby. She’s the only person I really spend time with outside of work and training, so that’s sort of my go-to.”

“Oh.” To Jaune’s surprise, a bright smile spread across Pyrrha’s face. “Thank you, Jaune.”

Jaune wasn’t quite sure what she was thanking him for, so he just returned her smile. “Well then, partner. Shall we begin our journey?” He made a dramatic sweeping gesture that he’d once used while playing games with Ruby when they were little.

To his delight, Pyrrha laughed and returned his gesture with an equally dramatic bow. “Indeed, we shall.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes. The forest was deceptively peaceful, but Jaune knew better that to believe that would last. It was one of the first lessons he and Ruby had learned after their home village was destroyed so long ago: _always_ assume the Grimm are coming.

“So, Jaune,” Pyrrha broke the silence. “You use a sword?”

“Yep,” Jaune slid his weapon out of its sheath and held it up for Pyrrha to inspect. “Crocea Mors. Been in my family for generations if I remember my mother’s stories right. Simple but dependable.”

Pyrrha hummed in consideration as she admired it. “Does it mecha-shift?”

“Nope.” Jaune shrugged. “Just a sheath that expands into a shield. Nothing fancy like Ruby’s weapon.” He slid Crocea Mors back into its sheath and offered his new partner an easy smile. “Might be a bit simplistic, but it works for me.”

“That’s what matters,” Pyrrha agreed with a smile. Jaune was relieved that she wasn’t going to make a big deal about it. He’d gotten crap from plenty of people for his ‘ancient’ weapon over the years. It was a relief to know Pyrrha wasn’t going to add to that.

Jaune tripped over a log. _Head out of the clouds, idiot,_ he berated himself. He pressed his face against the layer of fallen leaves that coated their path.

“Are you okay?” Pyrrha asked. He looked up to see her mouth pressed in a firm line as she tried not to laugh. In her defense, there was real concern in her eyes along with amusement.

“Nothing damaged but my pride,” he quipped back. He accepted the hand she offered, and she pulled him to his feet. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“So, what’s your weapon?” he asked as he pulled a twig out of his hair.

“This is Milo,” she replied. She pulled a long spear out from its sheath on her back. “It has two short range forms as well as a rifle for long range. My shield is called Akouo.”

“Well, I’m glad to have another shield user on my team,” Jaune stated. “Maybe we can teach each other some new skills. We’re bound to each know a few tricks the other doesn’t.” 

Pyrrha beamed more brightly than Jaune thought an offer for a sparring partner called for, but he wasn’t about to judge someone for finding joy in the little things. “That sounds wonderful, Jaune!”

Jaune grinned back, happy with the way Initiation had worked out so far.

_I hope Ruby managed to find as good of a partner as I have._

Ruby hit the ground running. It might seem odd to most, but she and Jaune had been through way worse than a measly fall from a cliff. She had more important things to worry about. Like finding her brother.

_Gotta find Jaune, gotta find Jaune,_ she thought as she dodged around trees and sliced through the occasional Beowolf with her scythe before they even realized that the rose scented blur was, in fact, a young human.

_I really hope I can find Jaune for my partner,_ she thought desperately. _We’ve always been together; I don’t want that to change now._

_Okay. Think, Ruby. Who do you know in this place? Jaune, of course. Pyrrha too. I think I would be happy to end up partnered with her. There was that Weiss girl who kept yelling at me—and that one girl who told her off. I didn’t catch her name._

Ruby came to a screeching halt as she heard something rustle in the bushes behind her. She shifted her grip on Gilded Thorn, the blade extended in scythe mode. She took a deep breath and stretched out her senses, paying most attention to sound.

There it was. Ruby could hear heavy footsteps, or rather paw steps. Each thud was followed by the rasping sound of claws tearing through the undergrowth. Very faintly, she could feel a slight vibration underneath the soles of her sneakers.

_Too big for a Beowolf, even an alpha. Ursa, maybe? Yeah, that makes the most sense._ The thudding steps began to double and overlap slightly, as if the sound were echoing. _Darn it, that means there’s two of them. Are they waiting to ambush?_

Ruby’s thoughts were broken by a snarl as a large Ursa lunged at her. She dodged to the side, barely avoiding the Grimm’s razor-sharp claws. She twisted and landed a glancing blow on the monster’s side with her blade. It wasn’t enough to do real damage, but it definitely got its attention. It snarled and swiped at her. Ruby blocked the blow with Gilded Thorn, but the force still knocked her back several steps.

Ruby caught her balance quickly and then used her Semblance to move out of the way as the second beast made its appearance. The snap that was intended to take her head off merely closed on a mouth full of red rose petals.

The first Ursa made another swipe. Ruby shot into the ground and used the recoil to launch herself into the air and perch a sturdy tree branch. Before the Grimm could work out where she had gone, she jumped. She aimed for the first Ursa, scythe blade extended. She swung and the beast’s head fell to the ground, already dissolving into putrid smoke.

Ruby moved to face the remaining Ursa, weapon up and ready. Before she could move, a black, cleaver like blade lodged itself cleanly in the Ursa’s neck. It didn’t sever the head completely, but it cut deeply enough to incapacitate it. Ruby finished it off with a single bullet through the eye.

As the Grimm evaporated, Ruby watched as the unexpected weapon was pulled away by a ribbon like tether attached to the handle. She followed it up and caught the gaze of the black-haired girl with a bow sitting high up in a tree as she reclaimed her blade.

It was the same girl who had told off Weiss Schnee after the exploding incident. Ruby smiled brightly at her. “Hi!” she called up as she collapsed Gilded Thorn and sheathed it at her back. “Thanks for the help!”

She was pretty certain she could have handled the second Ursa on her own, but not having to meant that she saved a bit of aura. That was a win in her book. Plus, there was no need to be rude to her new partner. That wouldn’t be a very good first impression. (The explosion totally didn’t count. It wasn’t her fault she got pushed!)

The older girl nodded slowly in reply as she secured her weapon. Then she jumped down from the tree with a kind of ease and grace that immediately had Ruby in awe. “Wow,” Ruby chirped as the other girl landed in front of her. “That was awesome! You’re like a cat!”

“What!?” Ruby was utterly unprepared for the angry question. Or for her new partner to roughly grab the front of her hoodie and pin her against a tree, lifting her feet completely off the ground.

“H-hey!” Ruby protested. “What are you doing?” She squirmed unhappily in the taller girl’s forceful grip and tried to kick her, but she couldn’t get enough force to so much as scratch the older girl’s aura. She gripped low enough that the she didn’t put any pressure against Ruby’s throat, but the material was pulled so tightly against her torso that there was absolutely no slack that she could exploit to slide out of the garment and get away. And Ruby didn’t even know what she did wrong!

The dark-haired girl glared at her. “How did you know?” she demanded.

“Kn-know what?” Ruby whimpered. She wished desperately that Jaune were there, or that she had at least managed to find a partner that didn’t apparently hate her on sight.

“Who told you I was a Faunus?” the girl demanded.

Ruby blinked up at her, confusion starting to take over her fear. “What are you talking about?”

“You called me a cat.” Her voice cracked, anger waning into confusion in the face of Ruby’s honest bafflement.

“I said you were graceful like a cat when you jumped out of the tree. I was just trying to be nice.” Ruby sighed in relief when the other girl abruptly let go and let her drop back onto the ground.

“It was … a compliment?” Ruby’s new partner asked slowly, sounding lost.

“Well it was supposed to be,” Ruby retorted, glaring up at the taller girl. Jaune would probably call it a pout, but it was definitely a glare!

“Oh.” The bow wearing girl stared at Ruby. She seemed… kind of lost. Like she wasn’t sure what to do with herself without something to be angry about.

“So, you’re a Faunus,” Ruby remarked, her voice deadpan. “Ears?” she guessed, pointing to the black bow on top of her head.

“Yeah,” the girl confirmed, eyeing Ruby intently. “Cat ears.”

“So that’s why you got so mad.” Ruby snorted. She stepped away from the tree she was still leaning against and approached the other girl. She eyed Ruby like she was waiting for an attack, which the younger girl thought was a bit unfair.

“You… don’t care?” the Faunus girl’s voice was hesitant.

“Well, I’m a little annoyed that you attacked me. But no, I don’t care that you have a second set of ears.”

The girl’s expression turned thoughtful as she regarded Ruby. Ruby met her gaze steadily, waiting her out. Finally, she spoke. “You really don’t care? You won’t tell anyone?”

Ruby shrugged. “I’m from the Outlands. We don’t have time for racist bullshit. If you want people to think you’re human, then that’s your business.”

The dark-haired girl nodded slowly, eyes never leaving Ruby’s.

There was silence for a moment before Ruby spoke up again. “I’m Ruby Arc.” She offered her partner her hand.

She took it. “Blake Belladonna.”

Thankfully, their little altercation didn’t seem to catch the attention of any more Grimm. Ruby still felt a little nervous with Blake, but the older girl seemed genuinely apologetic for grabbing her, so Ruby chose not to hold it against her. She’d seen firsthand just how cruel some humans were to Faunus. Even human vagrants like her and Jaune were treated better than skilled Faunus in some of the settlements they passed through.

So no, Ruby didn’t blame her partner for wanting to pass as human. Not at all.

“I think I see our destination.” Blake called down from the top branches of a tree. “It’s about half a kilometer east of here.”

“Awesome!” Ruby cheered as Blake hopped down. “We’ll be there in no time! Then we’ll complete our mission and take our places as Huntresses in training!”

Blake rolled her eyes, but Ruby definitely heard a quite laugh from the taciturn girl, so she was totally taking that as a win. Ruby took a deep breath as they walked. The smell of fresh grass and decaying leaves made her feel at home in a way that she’d been sorely missing ever since she and Jaune had settled in Vale. Grimm or no Grimm, she loved being outside.

“Hey, Blake.” Blake glanced at her. “Hungry?” Ruby slipped two granola bars out of her pocket and offered one to her surprised partner.

“Where did you get that?” Blake asked as she accepted the food.

“Stashed it away from the breakfast they gave us,” Ruby replied as she swiftly unwrapped her own and took a bite.

“But this is pretty much all they gave us,” Blake protested, looking alarmed.

“Nuh-uh,” Ruby countered. “I ate the apple and drank the milk. Those would have been too bulky to carry anyway.”

“I can’t just take your food.”

“Yes, you can,” Ruby retorted. “I offered it to you, didn’t I? I’ll be fine. I’ve eaten better over the past few days than I have in months. Besides, you’ll be fighting beside me if we get into trouble. It’s best if we both have a bit of fuel to work with.”

Blake still didn’t look happy, but she ate the granola bar. Afterward, Ruby stowed both wrappers in her hoodie pocket.

“Hey, there it is!” Ruby cheered as the crumbling stone structure came into view.

“Looks like it,” Blake concurred. “And it looks like there are a few people there already.”

“Really?” Ruby asked, well aware that Blake really meant that she could _hear_ people, not see them. “How many?”

“Just two. Probably another pair of partners collecting their relics.”

When Ruby caught sight of the aforementioned pair, she squealed in delight and launched herself at the closest one with as much speed as she could muster without the use of her Semblance.

“JAUNE!”

Her brother laughed as he caught her in his arms. “Hey, Rubes. I see you found your way here. Good to know you managed to find a partner with a sense of direction. Brothers know you would get lost trying to find the bathroom otherwise.”

Ruby leaned far enough away from Jaune’s chest to stick her tongue out at him. The movement allowed her catch sight of an amused Pyrrha.

“Hi, Pyrrha!” She called happily. “You’re Jaune’s partner, huh?”  
“Indeed I am. Hello to you too, Ruby,” the Mistralian said warmly.

Ruby pulled completely away from Jaune and moved to stand in front of the tall redhead with a bright grin. “I’m glad. Make sure to keep my bonehead of a big brother out of trouble, okay Pyrrha?”  
Pyrrha laughed brightly. “I will certainly do my best,” she assured the smaller girl. They both ignored Jaune’s offended yelp.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Ruby hurried back to her rather bemused companion. “This is my partner, Blake. Blake, this is my big brother Jaune and our friend Pyrrha.”

“Hi,” Blake offered the two a slightly awkward wave.

“Nice to meet you,” Pyrrha replied.

“Well, Blake,” Jaune added, smirking at Ruby, “make sure to keep my goofball of a little sister out of trouble, okay?”

“Hey!” Ruby pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave her brother a betrayed look. Unfortunately, all that accomplished was making all three of her companions laugh.

Blake nodded, looking more relaxed than she had since her accidental confession. “I’ll do my best. We’re partners now, after all.” She wandered over to the relics resting on stone pedestals in the center of the ruins. “Chess pieces?” she questioned absently.

“Probably varies from year to year,” Jaune replied as he came to stand beside her. “Ruby and I have had mentors from all four Academies at one point or another. The Beacon ones always had the most interesting Initiation stories.”

“Yep!” Ruby chirped from her place beside Pyrrha as the older girl gently untangled a leaf that was caught in Ruby’s hair. “I liked Cerulean’s story about collecting the storybooks. And the pairs who picked the books based on the same fairy tale became teams.”

Pyrrha chuckled. “It must have been nice to have so many different perspectives in your training.”

Ruby nodded and went to join her brother and partner, Pyrrha trailing close behind. “Ooh, want to play knights, bro?” Ruby asked brightly, pointing at the pair of black knight pieces.

Jaune smirked. “I thought you didn’t want to play that anymore because I always beat you.”

Ruby kicked him in the shin. “That wasn’t fair, and you know it! You had Crocea Mors. I had a stick.”

“The knight piece is fine with me,” Pyrrha broke in with a chuckle. “Blake?”

“Sure,” the disguised Faunus shrugged. “Why not?”

The Arc siblings grinned and claimed their pieces, tucking them into the inner pockets they had added to their hoodies. “So, what—”

Jaune was interrupted by a loud rumbling. It was made by paws, larger than a Beowolf, probably another Ursa. But Ruby couldn’t help but think that the paw steps sounded… odd. They were frantic, but not really purposeful, she supposed. Like the Grimm making them was moving quickly but without a real destination in mind. She looked up at her brother, who had an equally confused expression on his face.

“I hear it too,” he confirmed. “That’s not normal.” He unsheathed Crocea Mors and Ruby quickly followed suit with Gilded Thorn. After all, strange behavior in Grimm rarely led to anything good.

Before their partners could ask what they meant, a large dark figure crashed into the clearing. It was indeed an Ursa, and it was flailing around erratically, not even noticing the four potential victims it had just stumbled across. The reason for that soon became clear as Ruby saw a small figure in pink clinging to its back.

“What the heck?” Jaune asked blankly as the figure cheered and the Grimm collapsed to the ground.

“Aww,” the orange-haired girl pouted. “It’s broken.” She kicked its head like it was a bicycle with a flat tire as it began to melt away.

“Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?” Blake asked incredulously. Ruby couldn’t blame her. She’d seen some odd things in her lifetime, but she had never seen someone try to ride a Grimm before.

She didn’t notice the second figure until he spoke. “Nora!” The boy was dressed in a green outfit in an old traditional Mistralian style favored in some of the more remote settlements in Anima. His long black hair was tied back in a tail with a single magenta streak that matched the color of his eyes. “Never do that again!” he demanded as he fought to regain his breath.

The girl, Nora apparently, completely ignored him as she skipped up to the pedestals and inspected the chess pieces closely before gasping in excitement and snatching up a rook piece. “I’m queen of the castle, I’m queen of the castle!” she sang brightly as she took up several silly poses with the little castle figure.

The other four stared at her in confusion. “What the?” Blake summed up all their thoughts perfectly.

“NORA!” the dark-haired boy yelled once he’d caught his breath.

“Coming, Ren!” Nora called back. Her voice was completely unrepentant. She skipped back to her companion’s side with a manic grin. She presented the rook to Ren, who sighed in resignation.

A scream sounded before anyone could collect themselves enough for introductions. Pyrrha and Blake gripped their weapons, but Ruby, Jaune, and the newcomers didn’t bother. They could tell pretty easily that the scream was of exhilaration, not fear. A yellow streak flew into the clearing and yelped as it impacted a tree with enough force to end up imbedded slightly in the bark.

“Wow!” the blonde girl cheered. “That was quite a ride!”

“Where did she come from?” Blake asked in confusion. Ruby shrugged in reply.

“Hey!” a familiar white-haired girl ran in, panting like there was a pack of Beowolves at her heels. “How could you leave me?!”

“You’re the one who wouldn’t tackle it,” the blonde retorted as she pulled herself down from the tree and jumped to the ground. “So, you had to go on foot.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Weiss Schnee glared at her apparent partner.

“Hey!” Ruby yelled when she got a good look at the blonde girl. “You’re the one who knocked me into her bags!” she pointed at Weiss, who seemed to have just realized that there were other people present, judging from her embarrassed expression. “And then she kept yelling at me for it!”

“I did?” the blonde asked guiltily. When Ruby nodded, she winced and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry about that, kid. I tend to rush in when I get excited. I didn’t even notice.”

Ruby nodded but was once again interrupted by a noise. It was footfalls, but there were a lot of them, and they were _heavy._ And they were headed straight for the student initiates. She looked at Jaune with wide eyes, and he returned her anxious look.

“Too many feet, all blended together. And a lot of bulk. Please don’t be…”

A huge Deathstalker crashed into the clearing, deadly pincers snapping and venomous stinger raised and ready.

“Oh, _crap,_ ” the siblings chorused.

The rest of the group clearly shared the sentiment. Whole heartedly.

“Oh, man. It followed us?” the blonde complained.

“Of course, it did,” Jaune retorted. “It’s a Deathstalker. They’re even more notorious for never giving up a hunt than normal Grimm are. That’s why they’re called Death _stalkers._ ”

The giant scorpion-like monster let out a screech and lunged for the assorted teenagers. They all moved back quickly. Weiss raised her rapier and froze it with a burst of ice Dust.

“There, now can we please get back to our objective?” the white-haired girl demanded.

“That’s not going to hold it for long.” Jaune retorted. “I already told you, Deathstalkers don’t give up on a hunt. And it’s at least another three kilometers to the cliffs, there is no way we’ll be able to make it there before it gets free.”

Weiss looked like she wanted to argue, but everyone except Pyrrha and the blonde girl were nodding in agreement. “He’s right,” Blake agreed. “I’ve dealt with these things before. They get nasty when their prey runs. It’s best to deal with it quickly.”

“I agree,” Ren offered. Nora nodded happily, but it was unclear if she was agreeing with the plan or just happy at the chance to jump on top of another Grimm. Clearly sensing his partner’s intentions, Ren grabbed Nora’s wrist before she could turn the situation into a Grimm rodeo. She pouted.

“Fine,” Weiss gave in begrudgingly.

“If we’re all in agreement,” Jaune sighed. “Our best bet to pierce the body is to use its own stinger. Ruby, you remember how we took out that Deathstalker in Breidown?”

“Yep!” Ruby chirped with a nod.

“Fill Pyrrha in and the two of you will take step one.”

“Okay,” Ruby nodded to Pyrrha and the older girl obligingly followed her a little ways away to listen to the plan. Everyone eyed the frozen Grimm as it creaked ominously but remained focused on their own tasks.

“Blonde girl—”

“The name’s Yang!”  
“Do you have a long-range weapon?”

Yang pumped her fists, and her gauntlets gave a very distinctive sound as their ammunition slid into place. “Ember Celica at your service.”

“After Ruby and Pyrrha do their part, aim for the eyes.”

“You got it, boss.”

“Same for Ren and Blake. Weiss, make sure it doesn’t get free. Nora, be ready on my mark.”

The plan was relatively simple, which was kind of unavoidable considering it was originally concocted by Jaune and Ruby during a particularly grueling fight nearly four years ago.

When Jaune gave the signal, Ruby and Pyrrha simultaneously cut off each of the Grimm’s claws and Jaune jumped up and swiped his sword at its stinger. He didn’t manage to severe it completely, but left it hanging by only a thin layer of tissue. It’s howl of outrage echoed through the trees as the ice encasing it began to crack. Yang, Blake, and Ren started shooting at its eyes while Weiss used another vial of ice Dust to reinforce the restraints keeping it still. Pyrrha threw her shield and managed to sever the stinger, causing it to fall into the Deathstalker’s head.

“Nora, nail it!” he called, and the hyper redhead happily jumped up and slammed her giant war hammer right onto the stinger, impaling it through the Grimm’s head skull.

All eight teenagers breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the huge monster disappear into putrid smoke.

Pyrrha stood proudly beside her new friends at the Team Announcement Ceremony. She saw Ruby squirming anxiously out of the corner of her eye. She smiled as she saw her partner place a calming hand on his sister’s shoulder, although his own expression showed that he was equally nervous.

_They were both perfectly calm when navigating the forest and fighting the Deathstalker but standing in front of a crowd has them tied up in knots?_ she thought in amusement.

They all clapped politely as Team CRDL was formed and sent on their way. She stepped onto the stage alongside the others as Professor Ozpin began to announce the next team.

“Jaune Arc. Ruby Arc. Blake Belladonna. Pyrrha Nikos. You collected the black knight pieces. From this time forward you will be known as Team ANBR (Amber). Lead by Jaune Arc!” Their pictures appeared on the big screen behind them, showing their new team identity.

Jaune looked absolutely stunned as Ruby cheered and hugged him. Pyrrha gave him an encouraging smile and a light punch on the shoulder and Blake looked mostly indifferent, but not unhappy with the announcement.

They left the stage together, their first act as a team. Ozpin continued with the final team announcement.

“Lie Ren. Weiss Schnee. Nora Valkyrie. Yang Xiao Long. You collected the white rook pieces. From this time forward you will be known as Team LYVS (Leaves). Lead by Lie Ren.”

Ren’s eyes widened in shock. He looked absolutely astounded by the announcement even as Nora glomped him and Yang offered a bright smile of congratulations. Only Weiss looked unhappy with the decision.

The team announcements were followed by dinner, and everything after that became a blur of information and instructions, made worse by the rapidly encroaching fatigue. It wasn’t that late, really, but a long day of trekking through a forest and fighting Grimm had left Pyrrha with an intense wish for a shower and a bed. Jaune and Blake seemed to agree judging by their dragging feet and tired expressions. Even little Ruby seemed a bit less energetic than usual.

So, it was a relief when they were given their dorm assignment and class schedules and told to get some rest. Poor Jaune was kept back for a moment, having to wait to collect his “Introduction to Leadership” packet, but he encouraged the other three to go without him.

Ruby stuck close to Pyrrha as they walked. The redhead wasn’t sure what, but she suspected something had happened between the two before they had arrived at the ruins. She wasn’t going to ask unless it became a problem. Ruby was shy, but she also warmed up quickly when given a chance. Pyrrha was sure the cheerful Ruby and quiet Blake would work things out between them given a little time.

Pyrrha almost sighed in relief when they reached their new dorm. Ruby, having the most energy left out of the three, got there first and unlocked the door with her newly assigned Scroll. She stepped inside, the other girls not far behind.

“Wow,” Ruby breathed as she took in the room. “This is amazing!” Pyrrha took in the smaller girl’s look of complete awe with confusion. Sure, it was a nice enough room, but it was still just a basic dormitory. There were four beds, a desk, two closets, and an attached bathroom. Nothing special as far as Pyrrha could tell.

“Look, guys!” Ruby cheered. She ran into the room and turned in a circle as if she were trying to take in everything at once. “We get beds!”

_Wait, what?_ Pyrrha thought faintly as she watched their youngest team member sit down on the edge of the left center bed. She looked at Blake to see if she had heard the same thing, and the look on her dark-haired teammate’s face showed that she had.

_She’s this excited… about getting a bed?_ Pyrrha thought faintly as a sick feeling built up in her stomach.

“We get to sleep in here every night?” Ruby asked, staring up at the two older girls with a look of pure wonder.

Pyrrha and Blake nodded mutely.

“Awesome,” Ruby breathed as she fell back onto her back on the bed. She giggled softly as she bounced a little.

“Hey, is this the right room?” Jaune’s voice broke the silence as he poked his head in the still open door.

“Yep!” Ruby called happily. “Look, Jaune! We get beds!”

“Awesome.” Jaune’s voice was no less excited than his sister’s. “It’s been ages since we had those.”

“We each get our own, too. And look.” Ruby jumped up and ran to the attached bathroom. She stepped inside and turned on the tap. She stared at the little stream of water like it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. “We’ve got our own bathroom! With actual running water. If we get thirsty at night, we can just get a drink! Just like that! Without needing to boil it or anything! And there’s a toilet that _flushes_!”

Jaune followed his sister to the doorway, both of them awing over the tiny amenities that most people took for granted as if they were some kind of fantastic treasure they had never expected to receive.

Pyrrha did not like what this said about the Arc siblings’ past. At all. And she swore right then and there that she would make absolutely certain that the future was going to be much better for them.

Pyrrha Nikos swore that she would protect Jaune and Ruby Arc. And when she put her mind to something, she did it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of classes. Jaune and Ruby are confused, Pyrrha is trying to help, and Blake is amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Blake is hard. I did my best, but I'm still not sure I got her voice quite right. Anyway, here is the next chapter before I start my new semester of college tomorrow. It's online, thankfully, but I'm sure that will come with its own set of problems.   
> Anyway, I hope you are all staying safe and healthy!   
> I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Blake awoke to the sound of people talking. She blinked blurrily in the morning sunlight and grabbed her Scroll from her nightstand. It informed her that it was seven forty-three. She stretched and sat up. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed. The voices turned out to belong to her two female teammates. Pyrrha was teaching Ruby how to make her bed. The older girl spoke softly as she showed the team’s youngest how to properly tuck and smooth the sheets. Ruby watched her with rapt attention.

Pyrrha was smartly dressed in her new uniform, hair done up in a neat ponytail and golden circlet resting on her brow. There wasn’t a single bit of wrinkled material or a hair out of place. It was a stark contrast to Ruby, who was still in her nightclothes: a pair of black leggings and an oversized yellow t-shirt that looked like it had probably once belonged to Jaune. Between that and her sleep mussed hair sticking up in all directions, the girl looked younger than fifteen. 

Blake didn’t see Jaune anywhere, but there was light coming from underneath the closed bathroom door, so presumably he was in there getting ready for the day. _Guess I’m the last one up. Oh, well. Not like I’m late._

“Like this?” Ruby asked as she carefully arranged her blanket and tugged the top edges until it rested neatly over her pillow. Her expression showed a much higher degree of concentration than the simple chore really deserved.

“Exactly!” Pyrrha replied. She reached out and gently ruffled Ruby’s already messy hair. Ruby’s expression lit up and she leaned into the older girl’s hand. “Great job, Ruby.”

“Thanks for showing me, Pyrrha.” She caught sight of Blake and smiled widely at her. “Morning, Blake!”

Pyrrha looked over and offered her a smile as well. “Yes, good morning.”

“Morning.” Blake stood up and went about making her own bed. It was nowhere near the quality her mother had insisted on once upon a time, resembling Jaune’s haphazardly organized blanket more than Pyrrha and Ruby’s picture-perfect beds. But it was good enough for a dorm full of teenagers.

The bathroom door opened and Jaune stumbled out, muttering anxiously to himself. He was wearing his uniform minus the tie, which he held away from his body with his fingertips as if it were a snake that he wasn’t sure was venomous or not. “What the hell is this?” he asked. He stared at the strip of cloth with a baffled expression. Blake ducked her head and stifled a snort. It was a little mean to laugh at her team leader for something the poor guy had no control over, but the look on his face was just too funny.

“It’s a tie,” Pyrrha answered patiently.

“Okay,” Jaune said slowly. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“You wear it around your neck,” Blake offered in an attempt to be helpful.

Jaune obligingly draped it over the back of his neck, but his confused expression just got worse as he held an end in each hand. “Why is one side so much wider than the other?” he asked. He looked more like a confused puppy than any seventeen-year-old boy had a right to.

“So that it will look right when you tie it,” Pyrrha offered.

“Tie it?” Jaune repeated. He looped the ends together and started to tuck one side under as if to tie it in a knot around his throat.

“No, not like that,” Pyrrha interrupted quickly. She snatched the strip of cloth away before the boy could manage to strangle himself. “You’re likely to hurt yourself if you do it like that.”

“And you’d look like an idiot,” Blake offered.

Pyrrha gave her a reproachful look and Ruby giggled. Jaune pouted. “Then how am I supposed to tie it?” he asked in frustration.

“Here.” Pyrrha looped the tie around her own neck. “I’ll show you. The uniforms at Sanctum required both genders to wear ties, so I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“Wait, Pyrrha?” Ruby broke in. The tall redhead paused and gave the younger her attention.

“Yes, Ruby?”

“Do we have to wear those too?” she asked, pointing to the accessory that was giving her brother so much trouble with a look of apprehension in her silver eyes.

“No,” Pyrrha said with a soft laugh. “Only the boys have to wear ties at Beacon. We have these.” She reached up and tapped the ribbon that was tied loosely around her own neck.

“Oh, good.” To Blake’s amusement, Ruby looked genuinely relieved. “Then I think I’ll go get ready. Good luck, bro. Try not to strangle yourself.”

Jaune aimed a swat at the back of his sister’s head. Ruby blurred into the bathroom before his hand could make contact. The door swung shut surprisingly gently and the lock clicked into place. Jaune rolled his eyes with a fond smile and turned his attention back to Pyrrha as she swiftly secured the tie around her own neck before she slipped it off and handed it back to the team leader.

“Whoa,” he said, eyeing the tidy knot in his tie with an awed expression. “Do you think you could teach me how to do that?”

“Of course. It’s not difficult. It merely requires a bit of practice.”

“Thanks, Pyrrha!” In that moment, Blake could clearly see the Arc family resemblance. Jaune and Ruby may not look much alike on the surface, but their excited grins were identical.

Pyrrha blushed. “You’re welcome, Jaune.”

Ruby emerged from the bathroom more quickly than Blake expected. It was clear that she was just as unfamiliar with the style of clothing as her brother was. She had managed to get everything on, but her stockings were a bit twisted and her shirt collar was sticking up. “Why are these socks so tall?”

“They’re stockings,” Pyrrha replied with a patient smile as she fixed Ruby’s collar and straightened her ribbon. “They’re meant to cover your legs completely.”

“Then why don’t they give us pants like the boys? Or leggings?”

“Social conventions are mostly crap and rarely make sense,” Blake cut in. As a Faunus, she was especially conscious of that fact, but she was also aware that Humans were not exempt. It just tended to be less severe for them.

Ruby and Jaune both nodded and gave simultaneous _Ahh_ s of understanding. Pyrrha shrugged and nodded with a sheepish expression. Blake wasn’t sure why the redhead felt guilty. It wasn’t like she was at fault any more than they were.

Blake took her turn in the bathroom. She felt a bit odd as she donned the Beacon uniform. Being a Huntress wasn’t really the life she had envisioned for herself. When she was a child, she had always imagined spending her days organizing protests and rallies like her parents. When she got older, rallies turned into missions as she fell deeper into Adam’s version of freedom fighting. Emphasis on _fighting._

But now she found herself at Beacon Academy, staring blankly into a mirror as her teammates waited for her to finish in the bathroom. Including her partner.

Her partner who knew she was a Faunus. Because Blake had snapped at her over a completely innocuous statement and blown her own cover before the school year had even begun. How could she expect to keep it a secret for the next _four years_ if she couldn’t even last _two days_?

She hated that she could see the apprehension in her own yellow eyes.

_Just breathe, Blake,_ she thought as she slipped into the breathing exercises her mother had taught her as a small child, when the anger and hate thrown at them during protests became too much for her. _You were fortunate enough to get a partner who grew up outside of the Kingdoms, who wasn’t taught to see Faunus as inferior. Ruby seems to legitimately not care. And it’s not like she knows that you were White Fang._

Blake quickly checked her bow, making certain that her cat ears were completely covered. If Ruby didn’t care, that probably meant that Jaune wouldn’t either, but Pyrrha was from _Mistral._ Blake would need to get to know her a lot better before she could consider taking that risk.

It was official. Professor Port was a pretentious braggart of the worst variety. So far, he had spent the entire class giving an obviously exaggerated retelling of one of his earliest Hunts. Blake rolled her eyes when she heard the professor say something about cabbages. _Seriously, what does that have to do with hunting Grimm?_

Thankfully, the man seemed oblivious to the world around him as he talked. He took no notice of the fact that several of his students were sleeping, or, in Blake’s case, reading her current novel. She had at least attempted to hide the cover to make it look like she might presumably be studying. She was starting to think she needn’t have bothered. She didn’t think the man had looked at the class once.

Blake glanced absently at her teammates, blinking as she pulled her mind out of her book and focused back on the real world. Pyrrha was watching Port with a blank look on her face and a notebook open on the desk in front of her where she occasionally jotted down notes on whatever part of the rant she found worth remembering. Jaune was dozing, his head resting on his folded arms and eyes half lidded. And as for Ruby…

Blake’s partner appeared to be doodling. Blake could hear the soft scratching of a pencil moving over paper as Ruby hunched over her own notebook, a look of concentration on her face complete with tongue sticking out slightly from the corner of her mouth. It was an amusing sight.

When she glanced at the younger girl’s notebook, Blake was surprised to see that it wasn’t a simple doodle at all. Ruby appeared to be sketching a rough but easily legible comic strip, featuring a man fighting an Alpha Beowolf in a forest.

Blake’s eyes narrowed as she studied the protagonist of Ruby’s work. It was a rather rotund man with a very bushy mustache wielding an axe that shifted into a gun. She watched as her partner started sketching another panel, as well as actually listening to Port’s lecture. Sure enough, the action that Ruby was drawing matched the story that the professor was telling.

Ruby was drawing Port’s tale as a comic strip.

_Well, I guess that’s one way to take notes,_ Blake thought, both impressed and amused. _Hey, if it works for her then it works. Far be it from me to judge somebody else’s learning style._

Blake spent the rest of Port’s lecture alternating between reading her book and watching Ruby’s comic come to life. She had to admit, the girl had talent. Blake wasn’t usually a fan of graphic novels, but she kind of wanted to read the one Ruby was making. It was certainly more interesting than listening to Port prattle on.

When she noticed Ruby set her pencil down and close her notebook, Blake turned her attention to Port. Sure enough, the man seemed to be winding down as he proudly proclaimed himself a hero and finally turned his attention to his students.

“And who among you has what it takes to be a true Huntsman?”

Blake was not surprised when Weiss Schnee immediately raised her hand, proudly declaring her own worthiness. The disguised Faunus had seen the heiress turn more and more red in the face as her blonde partner snoozed on her desk and generally just ignored the professor completely.

Blake wasn’t going to lie; she found the Schnee heiress’s annoyance exceedingly amusing. She had only met Yang Xiao Long briefly the other day, but she had gotten the impression that the girl was loud, irreverent, and a jokester. All things she was sure would drive the uptight Atlesian up the wall.

It was a bit petty, sure. But it wasn’t like Blake herself had anything to do with the two being partnered together. She was just enjoying the small entertainment fate had chosen to bless her with, that’s all.

She leaned back in her chair as she watched Weiss, now clad in her combat gear, stand at the front of the room to confront whatever Grimm Port had managed to procure for the lesson.

“Go Weiss!” Nora yelled loudly. Blake was beginning to suspect the redheaded girl didn’t have any other volume.

“Do your best,” Ren said calmly, a stark contrast to his partner’s untamable enthusiasm.

“Represent Team LYVS!” Yang added as she pumped her fist in the air.

Weiss rolled her eyes at her teammates but kept her focus on the rumbling cage.

“Let the match begin!” Port cried dramatically. He used his axe to slash off the latch keeping the cage secure. The door fell open, and a snarling Boarbatusk charged out.

Weiss jumped and sailed smoothly over the Grimm’s back as it attempted to trample her. She struck its side as she did so, but her silver rapier had no effect on its armored hide. “Ha, ha!” Port cheered. “You weren’t expecting that, were you?”

Weiss tried again, charging the boar-like Grimm head on, only succeeding in getting her blade trapped in its curved tusks. She yelped as she tried to pull it free.

Utterly unperturbed by his student’s predicament, Port called out, “A bold new approach. I like it!”

“She needs to go for the belly,” Ruby muttered. Blake looked at her partner in surprise. The shy girl was watching the action with a worried expression. “That’s the only spot without bone plating. Doesn’t she know that?”

Jaune shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think they have many Boarbatusks in Atlas. Maybe she hasn’t fought one before.”

The Grimm tossed its head and sent Weiss’s rapier flying to the other side of the room. It followed that up by ramming the girl and sending her tumbling to the ground.

“On, ho,” Port called. “Now what will you do without your weapon?”

Weiss yelped and barely managed to throw herself out of the way as the Boarbatusk charged at her again. She made a dive for her weapon and managed to scoop it up as she drew herself to her feet. The Grimm curled itself into a ball and launched at her. Weiss used a glyph to stop it just before it struck her and moved away quickly. The Grimm’s thwarted momentum caused it to flip over. It writhed on its back, all four limbs flailing madly in the air.

Seeing his teammate’s short-lived opportunity, Ren called out, “It’s underside is its weak point!”

“Yeah!” Nora screamed. “Go for the belly!”

Weiss obligingly used her glyph to propel herself toward the Boarbatusk and sank her blade into its stomach before it could roll over. Its enraged shriek abruptly cut off and a sudden cloud of dark smoke proved that the heiress had finished it off.

“Bravo,” Port commended. “It looks as if we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress in training.”

He turned to look at the students assembled in the lecture hall. “I’m afraid that is all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings. And stay vigilant! Class dismissed.”

Their first morning as Team ANBR was a blur of classes and teachers, including a dizzying and near incomprehensible lecture from a green haired professor named Oobleck that had caused Ruby to hide behind Jaune. The poor girl had evidently had a recent bad experience that had left her frightened by the man’s rapid unpredictable movements. Neither of the Arc siblings had been willing to elaborate. Pyrrha really did not like the implications. The experience had left the entire team tense and anxious.

That drama aside, none of their classes had been particularly strenuous in the way of actual course work (it was only the first day after all) but the newness and uncertainty of it all had been more stressful than Pyrrha had anticipated. The classes were so similar and yet so different from what Pyrrha had experienced at Sanctum, somewhat like the first time she had visited her grandparents after they had renovated their once familiar home. It probably didn’t help that all three of her teammates looked to her for advice on how to handle their new environment.

It really was strange that she was the only member of her team who had actually attended Combat School. Or any kind of school at all, as Jaune and Ruby had admitted. Still, she was more than happy to assist her friends in learning to navigate the unfamiliar environment. And, although she was certain Professor Oobleck was a very pleasant man, she was absolutely going to assist Jaune in keeping him far away from Ruby until she felt more comfortable with his particular quirks.

Considering they had missed the opportunity for breakfast due to losing track of time and having to run to their first class, Pyrrha was relieved when it finally reached twelve-thirty. Thankfully, all they had left was an hour and a half of free time for lunch, and then their first Combat Class and they would be done for the day. Pyrrha smiled as she entered the cafeteria along with her teammates and Team LYVS. The two groups had chosen to stay together for their break, although Weiss still seemed a bit morose after her eventful time in Port’s class.

“Whoa,” Ruby breathed. The younger girl bounced in place, thankfully having regained her usual bubbliness after leaving history class. She looked around the large room, eyes wide and awed. A glance at her older brother showed that Jaune’s expression was much the same. “I’ve never seen so much food in one place before.”

“I know!” Nora piped up with a wide grin. “Isn’t it great? Ooh, maybe they’ll have pancakes!” She grabbed Ren’s arm and dragged him off in the direction of the buffet line. The long-suffering boy merely grunted as his partner hauled him away. Yang laughed and followed, a silent Weiss trailing behind with a sigh.

“What’s with the sword fish?” Jaune questioned as they approached the line at the food table. “Are those even edible?”

“I… don’t actually know,” Pyrrha admitted with a slight frown. “I’ve certainly never eaten one before.”

“They are,” Blake responded as she snatched up a plate of tuna with the happiest expression that Pyrrha had seen from the girl so far. “It’s more common in coastal areas like Menagerie and Southern Mistral.”

“Alright then,” Jaune shrugged as he picked up two empty trays and handed one to Ruby. “Learn something new every day. Thanks, Blake.”

The dark-haired girl nodded before taking off in search of whatever other dish had caught her interest. Pyrrha chose a plate of sliced turkey and mashed potatoes and few pieces of fruit before deciding that she had enough. She looked around for her teammates to discover that Blake was already sitting with Team LYVS at their chosen table about halfway across the room, and Jaune and Ruby were staring at the table full of food, overwhelmed expressions in their faces. She hurried over to them.

“Are you alright?” she asked. She balanced her tray on one hand and rested the other on Jaune’s shoulder.

“Yeah, we’re fine, Pyrrha,” her partner said reassuringly. “There’s just… a lot of choices.”

“Uh-huh,” Ruby nodded. She looked up at Pyrrha with a bashful smile and held her tray in front of her chest like a shield. “We’re not sure where to start.”

“Well, why don’t you pick three things that look good and start from there?” Pyrrha suggested gently. Her heart constricted at their uncertainty, but she ignored that in favor of helping them solve it. “If it’s not enough, you can get more. And if it’s too much, you’ll know better next time.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaune agreed, sounding much more upbeat.

“Yeah, thanks Pyrrha!” Ruby chirped. With that settled, it didn’t take long for the siblings to choose their lunches and follow Pyrrha to their table. Ruby took a seat beside Nora, with Jaune on her other side and Pyrrha on the end. Ren was seated on Nora’s left and Blake ignored them from the other side of the table beside Yang, her nose buried in a book.

Nora pouted at her plate as she twirled a strand of spaghetti around her fork. “No pancakes, huh?” Jaune asked sympathetically.

“Nope,” the hyper redhead grumbled.

“You knew it was a long shot,” Yang laughed. “Cheer up, Nora. I bet there’ll be pancakes at breakfast tomorrow.”

“But I don’t want to wait until tomorrow!” Nora cried. “I want delicious pancakes now! They belong at every meal! Why does nobody see that?!” She banged her fist on the edge of her tray, accidently launching an apple at Ruby. Jaune caught the fruit before it could hit his sister in the face and set it on the corner of Yang’s tray instead.

Ren reached over and patted his partner’s back consolingly without ever once looking up from his own food. Weiss rolled her eyes but refrained from commenting. Yang cackled and put Nora’s apple on Ren’s tray. Blake never looked up from her book.

“Here, Nora,” Ruby spoke up. When the hammer wielder looked at her, Ruby offered her a chocolate chip cookie. “I know it’s not a pancake but at least it has chocolate.”

Nora eyed the sweet with an expression of awe. “How did you get that?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Yang added, looking faintly impressed. “When I went by the dessert table, the upperclassmen shooed me away. Said it was a right of passage that first years aren’t allowed until after their first Combat Class.”

“This really nice girl gave it to me. She saw me looking at them and said she thought I looked sad.” Ruby shrugged.

“Which girl?” Pyrrha asked.

Ruby glanced around the crowded cafeteria and pointed towards the door. “Her over there, with the rabbit ears. She said her name was Velvet.”

Pyrrha was just able to make out the top of said rabbit Faunus’s ears from where she was sitting beside a very large man with close cropped black hair. She nodded. “That was nice of her.”

“Yep!” Ruby agreed. “But I think you need it more than I do, Nora. Here.” She offered the cookie again.

Nora blinked at the younger girl for a moment before she smiled brightly and suddenly grabbed Ruby in a tight hug. “Aww, you’re adorable! I can’t take a cookie from the baby! I’m not a monster!”

“Nora.” Ren broke in. “Maybe you should let go. I don’t think Ruby can breathe.”

Sure enough, the youngest’s face was turning an alarming shade of blue. “Whoopsie! Sorry!” Nora released her hold, and the little scythe wielder took in a gulp of air and slumped against her brother’s side. Jaune rubbed her shoulder gently and eyed Nora uneasily.

“Are you alright, Ruby?” Pyrrha asked in concern.

“Yeah. Just needed to get my breath back.” Ruby looked thoughtfully at Nora for a second. Then she broke the treat in two and offered her half. “Here, Nora. We can split it.”

Nora smiled brightly. She accepted the cookie half and threw an arm around Ruby’s shoulders, although Pyrrha noticed that it was done much more gently that before. “Yay! The baby is my friend now! Forever!”

Ruby shrugged and returned Nora’s half embrace. The two girls simultaneously took bites from their shared sweet.

Ren turned to Jaune. “Good luck,” he said simply to his fellow team leader.

“Good luck with what?” the blonde asked nervously.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

_Dear Winter,_

_My time at Beacon is off to an interesting start. Initiation was not exactly what I had expected, but I met the challenge in a manner befitting of a Schnee, naturally. While getting thrown off a cliff may not be the most civilized of beginnings, I was already aware of Headmaster Ozpin’s somewhat eccentric personality. And, as uncouth as it may be considered in some circles, you cannot argue with the man’s results. Beacon is not the highest ranked Huntsman’s Academy for nothing, after all._

_My team has been dubbed Team LYVS (Leaves). Our team leader is named Lie Ren. While I have not known him long enough to have an in-depth assessment of his character, my first impressions are largely positive. So far, he has proven to be a levelheaded and serious individual, with some success at handling the less disciplined members of our team._

_My partner is named Yang Xiao Long. She is highly unruly and impulsive, but I will admit that she is quite skilled at hand to hand combat. She refers to herself as a “brawler” and takes a strange sort of pride in never refusing a fight. I suppose I will be spending the next four years keeping her from getting in over her head. Troublesome, but that is the price you pay with partnerships._

_The fourth member of my team is named Nora Valkyrie. The only way that I can think to describe her is hyperactive, but that word truly does not seem to be enough. Just today during lunch, she nearly suffocated a member of another team because she was offered a cookie. Thankfully, Ren seems to know how to keep her at least somewhat under control. They have known each other since they were children, and Nora does appear to listen to him to some degree._

_I actually find myself somewhat relieved to not be chosen as team leader. I do not envy Ren the responsibility of keeping Nora and Yang in line 24/7. It is rather exhausting already, and we have been a team for less than twenty-four hours. I will of course endeavor to assist him in any way that I can, as is expected of a responsible teammate._

_We have also begun the process of building ties with other teams in our age group. Team ANBR looks to be our primary ally at this time. It is comprised of the Mistralian champion Pyrrha Nikos, a rather studious girl named Blake Belladonna, and a pair of siblings named Jaune and Ruby Arc. Oddly, Ruby Arc is only fifteen years of age, two years below the minimum age requirement to enroll in a Huntsmen’s Academy. I am uncertain as to the reason for her early admittance to the school._

_The only explanation that I can think of is her being some sort of prodigy, but I have yet to see any signs that would lend credence to this. The few times we have interacted, she has spent either hiding behind her older brother or tripping over things. Still, it would be foolish to discount a potential ally with so little observation. Perhaps she will surprise me. Time will tell._

_I hope that things are going well for you, sister. I have not seen you in nearly a year, and I find myself missing your company greatly. Are you proud of the choices I have made? Are you disappointed that I have chosen to relocate to Vale rather than remain in Atlas? I realize you are unlikely to answer these questions, even if I were to ask them._

_~~I love you, sister.~~ _

_~~Best wishes,~~ _

_Your sister,_

_Weiss Schnee_

***Message Unsent***

***Message Deleted***

**Author's Note:**

> Got bored, did a thing. I thought it had potential, so here you go. Would anyone be interested in reading more?


End file.
